Confessions and Compulsion
by laced-star
Summary: What if Elena died..and turned? How would that change the whole course of her destiny? R&R xx D/E, plus a load of others xx Enjoy! x  Written by laced scrawl and pompeystar  Joint account :D xx
1. Chapter 1

**Hiya! **

**As you might know, this story was originally on my single account (Pompeystar) But now, obviously, is been moved to this account, which is shared with my friend laced_scrawl (Check her out- she's awesome!)**

**Anyway, I've written this chapter and the next one, but Ch2 is currently beng changed by laced_scrawl, because there was something in it that's now been postponed for the next few chapters xx Sorry guys, not telling what that was ;) x**

**So- enjoy! xx**

**Rating- T**

**Summary: Set after 2x10, what if Elena died- and turned? How would that change the whole course of her destiny? R&R xx D/E xx**

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"Stefan?"

Elena Gilbert took two shaky steps towards the mouth of the tomb. Suddenly, ditching Damon to come and talk to Stefan- at night, didn't seem like such a great plan anymore. Especially since Damon was sure to wake up from his vervain-spiked-scotch-induced-coma very soon… and realise exactly what had happened. He wasn't stupid.

Damon was a lot of things, but stupid? No.

"Stefan?" She repeated, her voice barely a whisper. Elena took a deep breath to calm her racing heart; it was times like theses where she wished she was, you know, undead. So that others couldn't hear her heartbeat when she approached.

_Concentrate Elena. _She thought. _You're here to see Stefan. _Elena took several steps until she was well into the tunnel leading through the tomb. She placed her hand on the stone wall next to her to steady herself.

Step forward. Deep breath. Carry on.

She'd been telling herself that a lot these days. Step forward. Deep breath. _Stop._

She could hear a conversation going on around the corner from where she was standing. She slid down the wall to a crouch, concealing herself from who she presumed to be Stefan and Katherine. Ears straining, she concentrated on what they were saying. Gradually, she started to make out a voice. A woman's

Katherine's.

"Are we really just going to ignore each other?" She sighed. I was hoping to do something a little… kinkier than sitting."

Stefan stayed silent, watching the tomb "roof" with a dead stare.

Katherine sighed again. "What am I meant to do Stefan? Get down on my knees and apologize? I really don't think I have anything to apologize for. I've said it once and I'll say it again. I was looking out for myself. I will-"

"Always look out for yourself. Yes Katherine, I get it. Yet you still claim to love me. Yes, I'm extremely convinced that you've done everything in your power to prove your love." He spat, sarcasm laced in his every word. "Look at what your supposed love has done for me. Torn my brother and I apart. Killed my best friend, the woman I love doesn't trust me. So many have died- look at all of the deaths in depth and it all traces back to your _love_."

All at once, Stefan found himself slammed up against the tomb's wall. Katherine was clawing at him, black veins spreading around her face. He twisted, trying to free himself from her grasp- but it was steely, her strength close to unbeatable. "Stefan- that wasn't me. You all brought that unto yourselves. Your relationship with Damon? Savaged because I turned both of you, knowing that you'd be devastated at the loss of your brother. He hates you because you forced him to complete the transition. Not so sorry I fed him my blood now are you? That wench Lexi, dead because of Damon's obsession with me. Damon's, not mine Stefan." She shook him a little harder, her face dangerously close to his. Despite the fact that Stefan was on the verge of snapping, fighting back , he restrained himself. His gaze never wavered from Katherine's as he listened to her confession. "You know why your supposed _love_ Elena doesn't trust you Stefan? Do you want to know why?"

She pushed him away from her, he let himself fall, but then turned to face her so fast even her eyes barely caught the movement. She continued to speak fast, revelling in his unwavering attention. "Because you have too much of myself inside of you. It's not just a human's natural behaviours that are intensified when they turn Stefan, it's their emotions too. You loved me as a human, you love me more now. You swore of human blood, why? Because you were scared of the person it made you. Think, does that person remind you of anyone in particular?" Stefan's eyes widened slightly, out of shock or surprise, she didn't know. "Me. Stefan." She paused. "You loved me. So your true vampire personality reflects mine. We're two halves of the same whole. We love each other, that will never change."

Stefan all at once had Katherine by the throat. "I love Elena, Katherine."

Katherine reached out and twisted Stefan's wrist until he let go of her. Her hands then darted out to cradle his face gently. Furious, he tried to twist his face out of her embrace, but her hands held him firmly, her lips were a pout away from his. "No Stefan. You love her humanity, because it was something I rarely had. Something I only had at my most vulnerable. Haven't you ever noticed Stefan? Your precious Elena has the Petrova fire. Have you ever seen it? No. But your brother has. He loves her, she loves you, but has no control over her growing feelings for Damon. You love her, but you love me more, as you always have. I love you. This is the way it'll stay, for the rest of our undead lives." Katherine's eyes were bright, and a sad smile crept across her lips.

Stefan's eyes closed in defeat. "A twisted love square," he whispered hoarsely.

* * *

Stefan's eyes closed in defeat, and gently he leaned forward to rest his forehead against Katherine's. His gaze rose to meet hers, trapped, where somehow, Elena knew it would stay for the rest of eternity.

She'd seen enough. Forgetting her earlier plan, she rose unsteadily to and ran as fast as she could towards the mouth of the tomb, racing up the steps than led downwards.

Run forward. Deep breath. Don't look back.

_Run. _She stumbled over the uneven ground in a desperate haste to reach her car, tears were streaming down her face.

Run forward. Deep breath. Don't look back.

Finally, she reached it, wrenched the handle of the door desperately until it opened. She got in and fastened her seatbelt, her fingers shaking.

She could taste the salt on her face. She's always known it of course, deep down inside of her. She knew that Stefan still felt _something _for Katherine. He loved her, but Katherine would always hold a place in his heart. First loves would do that to you. Like Matt.

She shook her head, over and over and over again. _This couldn't be happening. _

Elena didn't notice the speed-o-meter creep up to 90mph as her car crossed Wickery Bridge.

95mph.

That was when the car skidded on the ice. It flipped, crashing through the barriers that stood at its borders. Knowing what was about to happen, Elena squeezed her eyes shut. She knew this bridge and its troubled waters, she knew what it had taken from her, and now it was claiming her life too.

A sensation of falling.

Black waters, churning, breaking through the windows, choking her.

_Stefan, I love you._

Darkness circled her like a blanket.

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**What's happened to Elena? :O xx**

**Stefan's stuck in the tomb with Katherine, unsure of how to react to her advances what's gonna happen? x**

**The chapters will be quite different depending on who writes it, me or Arabella xx We'll tell you who writes each one, and you can tell us what you think xx**

**Speaking of thoughts... what were YOURS?**

**Click that button you know you want to ;) xx**


	2. Chapter 2

**Confessions and Compulsion**

**A/N: ****Hey! I'm laced_scrawl or Arabella, and I'm co-writing this story with the lovely Pompeystar. This chapter was originally written by her and edited by me. Hope you like it, and don't forget to let us know what you think! Enjoy! :) xxx**

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Katherine closed the distance between them and kissed him.

Unthinkingly, he grabbed the sides of her face and pulled her closer. Stefan could feel the possessive way in which she kissed him; as if she were claiming him for her own. His hands were everywhere, groping at the exposed skin of her back, running his hands through her brown curls… _she was so like Elena._

With a gasp he pulled himself out of the embrace, pushing her away. Her eyes glinted in amusement and her perfectly sculpted pout was swollen. He couldn't tear his eyes away from her lips - it wasn't fair; Katherine's pout had always been her most seductive asset. "Katherine…" His head dropped forward, he took a deep breath as his shoulders heaved. _God she made him crazy._

Slowly, she walked towards him, hips swaying gently, a smirk teasing the corners of her lips. All at once, it was blatantly clear to Stefan where Damon had gotten his swagger.

Katherine, all in the space of about 10 minutes, had gone from horny, to angry then to vulnerable, and then back again.

God, this woman was temperamental.

Fingers splayed wide, she rested her hand above his unbeating heart and leant forward, exposing the entire column of her throat in one single movement so that it was temptingly bare in front of him. Once again, Stefan was painfully reminded of Elena. "Yes Stefan?" She purred.

_Elena_.

She was the day whereas Katherine was the night. And yet they could be the same person. He'd always known, even though he tried so hard to deny it; he loved them both, and it was tearing him up inside. How was he supposed to choose between them?

"Katherine…" he started, trying to keep his voice as firm as possible. "You know that I still feel _something _for you. Whether it's love, or… something else, I know I love Elena. A part of me will always love Elena, just as a part of me will always love…" He broke off, not wanting to finish the sentence. "But I won't betray Elena. I _can't."_

Her face had quickly composed itself into her usual calmly controlled mask, and he found himself wanting to know what was behind it. Was she hurt with the rejection? Was she amused at his speech? Did she even care at all? But he knew that once Katherine chose to conceal her feelings, there was no way to get her to reveal them. It was one of the reasons why she was such an enigma, and whilst it infuriated him at times, it also attracted him to her. The mysterious air surrounding her was intriguing as well as appealing.

"Stefan, baby," she said with a playful smirk. "I hate to break it to you… but you already did." She finished, placing a chaste kiss on his lips, then turned on her heel and walked away.

_I'll leave him with that. _She thought. _Mama always said; always keep the boys wanting more._

Or something to that extent.

**x-x-x**

"Elena?"

Someone was calling her name. She forced her ears to listen harder until she heard it again a moment later, a little louder than before-

"Elena, wake up! Please! You can't-"

Elena Gilbert's eyes fluttered open. As her eyes adjusted to the dark, she instantly realised that she was in a clearing. _The woods. The woods by Wickery Bridge. _

"Damon?" She said groggily, as if waking up from a deep sleep. (And in some ways, she had). "Damon? What am I-?"

Her ears. Sensitivity. She could hear _everything._

But strangely… no heartbeat.

She was… dead.

But yet, she was alive. Awake, even.

She was…

_Oh._

Undead.

_Shit._

"Damon…? Am I… dead?" Her eyes rose fearfully to meet his for the first time. Gently, his hand came forward to rest on her chest.

Above her heart.

His eyes were sad.

"See, that's what I don't get," he murmured, more to himself than her. "Elena…. whose blood did you have in your system?"

"I don't-" And suddenly, like a dam breaking in her mind, the memories came flooding back.

Stefan. First day of school. Atlanta. Uncle John, dying on her kitchen floor. Stefan's face, crazed with bloodlust. Draining Amber. The Miss Mystic Falls pageant. The first dance. The way Damon had looked at her, the way they'd looked at each other…. Isobel. _'Cos he's in love with you. _Jeremy. His neck. _Snap_. Weeks of silence betweenherself and Damon. Caroline. Vampire. Bonnie. Witch. Duke University. Alaric Saltzman. Teacher. Friend. Aunt Jenna. Stefan. _I love you. _Her mirror image, Katherine. 1490. Bulgaria. Doppelgänger. Moonstone. Sacrifice. Werewolves. Tyler. Mason. Katherine. _Stefan._ Tomb. Unbearable pain. Drowning. Water. _Water choking her._ Darkness.

Death.

Stefan, shot. _"I can't protect you, Elena." _Blood exchanges for weeks. Secret.

I'm a vampire.

_Shit._

Damon was watching her, his face resigned though his head was thumping with impatience. "Elena? Whose blood turned you?" he repeated. When she continued to stare into space, his face transformed; black veins appeared beneath his eyes and the air around him suddenly became thick, as if raw emotion had leaked out of him. "Elena! Who did this to you?" He shook her and she let him, her head snapped back and forth.

"It was Stefan, Damon," she said quietly. "We've been exchanging blood ever since he was back on the human stuff - he was afraid that I'd get hurt… that I'd die. I don't, _didn't, _want to turn, but I'd rather live dead, than die forever. I never thought that…" she exclaimed in a shaky voice as she tried to understand it all herself. Suddenly a thought occurred to her; "How did you find me, Damon?"

But Damon wasn't in front of her anymore.

With a cry of animalistic rage, he'd thrown himself towards the shadows. He threw blind punches at the trees on the edge of the clearing. With a resounding _crack, _one of them split, and fell in the opposite direction.

Another tree.

More punches.

"He-"

_Punch._

"Fucking"-

_Punch._

"Turned"-

_Punch._

"You!"

Another tree fell to the ground. He continued to speed everywhere: demon exposed, fangs bared. Elena, without thinking, found herself next to him. She didn't know why she wasn't running in the opposite direction or shaking with fear, but it felt so natural. She pulled at his shoulder, and to her surprise, he didn't resist. She continued to pull until he turned around to face her.

"Stop, Damon. This was _my_ mistake," she said soothingly. "You aren't supposed to feel bad for it. Would you rather I was truly dead?"

He started to speak, more to himself than to Elena. "I could have saved you! But instead, I was knocked out cold, no thanks to you by the way! Elena, I always trust YOU to do the right thing; how could you be so stupid?" he exclaimed, his frustration and anger engulfing him. "I just can't... believe that you'd violate whatever hope I had left of all of us getting out of this alive. Maybe Bonnie, or Tyler, but not you Elena."

Elena fought to keep her tears from falling – she'd never been on the receiving end of Damon's disappointment before, and it was unnerving her to no end. The emotion in his voice was crippling her, and she hated the fact that she'd been the one to cause him more pain. But the veiled meaning behind his words was also unsettling her for different reasons.

"I'll ask you again Damon, would you rather I was really dead?"

"Yes!" he roared instinctively. "Anything is better than this!" He twisted her arm away from him, and she fell to the ground. Dimly, she felt tears on her cheeks.

"Really?" she whispered in disbelief. "I knew you were a lot of things, but I never thought you were cruel Damon, not with me." As she squeezed her eyes shut and cried, she felt him sit down next to her.

Tentatively, he rested his hand on her back. "Elena… I'm sorry, I didn't mean it. I just, the last thing I'd want for anyone, especially you, would be to turn. I wouldn't wish it on anyone. Your humanity, it's what makes you so undeniably, well, _you._"

She turned her face slightly to face his. "I'm dead Damon. For eternity, I'll have to take lives to save my own. For eternity, I'll be alone. Watching those I love grow old and die, while I stay young forever. And as Caroline always tells me, I'm way too maternal not to have kids, but I guess that isn't possible anymore."

Damon suddenly felt even worse than before. He'd been so wrapped up in his own rage that he hadn't stopped to think about how she was dealing with it all. And on top of that, she was convinced that she'd be alone. He shifted so that he was facing her, his legs fell to rest outside of hers; he lent forward to take her face in his hands.

"Elena, you won't go through this alone, I promise I'll help you, Stefan will too, so will Caroline, we're all here for you."

"Stefan." She spat, and then her mask broke. Tears cascaded freely down her cheeks as realisation hit her hard.

"Elena!" Damon's hands scrambled at her cheeks, frantically wiping her tears away, but they kept coming. Her face was broken.

"I saw him Damon." She whispered. Sometime during the struggle, her head had fallen to rest on his chest. Automatically, his arms had snaked around her to pull her close. "With Katherine, in the tomb. About the vervain, I'm so sorry, but you'd pissed me off, I wanted to show everyone that I wasn't the damsel in distress that they thought I was. I went to see him Damon. He loves her."

Damon shook his head indignantly.

"He loves you more Elena. You're everything to him, he loves _you_."

_I'm in the same position as he is, and look at me._ She felt Damon freeze.

"What?" Damon's voice was astounded.

_Shit. Did I just say that out loud?_

"Um, nothing. Sorry, Damon. I was just…" She trailed off, not knowing what to say.

His arms had tightened all the more around her. His voice sceptical: "What did you see when you saw them… together?"

"Katherine voiced what all of us have been thinking for months," She paused, "It's a twisted love square isn't it?"

Damon didn't answer, still trying to figure out what she had said earlier. He said the first thing that came into his head; "Elena, I should probably warn you, as a vampire… the compulsion that had been on you as a human will wear off. Not all in one go, but little things will trigger the memories that have been tampered with. Like-"

"Damon, I'm sorry but I can't-" She pulled back out of his arms to look at him in the eyes. "-I need blood, I think," She raised her eyebrows questioningly; "I'm in transition, right? So I need to feed."

"Sure, come on." Then gently, he leaned forward to kiss her forehead. It was precise and deliberate, almost as if he's rehearsed it. Elena gasped in surprise, blood temporarily forgotten, a memory flashed across her eyes.

"_Cute pj's."_

"_I'm tired Damon." The very person she couldn't face was here. In her room. And she was fobbing him off, again. Why couldn't she just say…?_

"_Brought you this," there, right in front of her eyes, he pulled out her necklace._

"_I thought that was gone?" Mutely, he shook his head. On his face was a smile that held a mixture of emotions, but in his eyes was an emotion that she didn't understand. This boy was so complicated… She thanked him, and then reached out to take her necklace back, her charm, the necklace that she treasured… until he pulled back before her fingers even touched it. "Please give it back."_

"_I just have to say something." As he took a step forward, she mirrored him, stepping away. Hurt flashed briefly through his eyes as she continued._

"_Why do you have to say it with my necklace?"_

"_Wh-" he broke off, stuttering uncertainly. He was stuttering. Who was this person and what had he done with Damon Salvatore? "Because what I'm about to say is," he paused, "probably the most selfish thing I've ever said in my life."_

_Heck no. last time Damon had tried to express his feelings, Jeremy had ended up dead- his neck twisted at a grotesque angle. She knew what he was going to say. "Damon, don't go there."_

"_I just need to say it once - you just need to hear it." He took another two steps forward and she dimly registered that she hadn't moved; her feet seemed to have glued themselves to the floor. As he reached her his hands came up as if to rest them on her shoulders, but at the last second he seemed to change his mind. His arms fell to his side, swinging slightly. "I love you, Elena." Time seemed to stop. "And it's because I love you that, I can't be selfish with you." His eyes were tense, every line of his beautiful face was rigid. "Why you can't know this; I don't deserve you. But my brother does." He was giving up. He leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. His hand lifted hesitantly to stroke the side of her face. "God, I wish you didn't have to forget this." She felt her eyebrows furrow slightly in confusion, then she realised. He had her necklace._

_No vervain meant… she could be compelled._

_It was too late. "But you do." Her memories were already gone by the time she saw a tear trickle down his cheek._

_And the he was gone._

Elena's eyes were open and staring. She saw him smile and heard him say; "I'm sorry, but it was better that you found that out sooner rather than later. You were going to remember that eventually, and I might not have been with you then."

Shakily, she stood up, not quite managing to tear her eyes away from his, and forcibly pushed him away from her.

"How could you steal that moment from me?" she exclaimed, her voice laced with hurt and confusion. "I've always trusted you, _you_ Damon, to tell me the truth. Not Stefan, _you_! Stefan believes that by keeping the truth from me, he's protecting me, but you were always honest - even if you knew it would hurt me. Do you not get how much that means to me? How could you steal that moment from me?" She repeated in a tone so soft it was almost a whisper, her eyes wide and accusatory. "How could you compel me? That was a complete violation of my trust!"

"You didn't trust me anyway Elena! That was gone the moment Jeremy's neck snapped!" They both flinched, the memory causing them pain, but for very different reasons. "Do you really think I'd be able to just say that to you and then leave you to think about it? It would have crushed you! You'd have been confused, angry and above all guilty because you'd feel like you were betraying Stefan…because no matter how many times you try and deny it Elena, you can't deny that _we have something._"

She flinched again; he'd thrown her words right back into her face and she knew that she couldn't deny them.

"I love _Stefan_." She whispered hoarsely. And then, he was right in front of her.

He started to step forwards until Elena felt her back slam into the tree behind her. He heard her heart beat speed up and he fought the urge to smirk triumphantly – he affected her in so many ways, and they both knew it.

"But you have feelings for _me_," he insisted, his voice low. He leaned in so that his head was right in front of hers and looked deep into her eyes, needing her to admit it to herself. "_You and I, we have something._" He placed his hands on either side of her head before leaning even closer. "Just _say_ it, Elena."

She wanted to. _So _badly it hurt. But how could she when she didn't even know what that something was? He was right; she may love Stefan, but she had feelings for him too – feelings that confused and excited her at the same time. They were different to what she felt for Stefan, but there was something oddly familiar about them too, and it terrified her. She looked into the penetrating depths of Damon's eyes and fought to keep herself from drowning in them. She couldn't do this – it wasn't right. She was not Katherine.

"I can't." she said sadly, her eyes trying to reach out to him – to make him see that she wanted to, she really, really wanted to, but she couldn't.

He sighed heavily and shook his head, automatically putting up his famous iron barriers to close himself off to her. There was no point in trying to convince her any further – she'd made up her mind and there was nothing he could do about it.

"You can't keep doing this, Elena," Damon said as he withdrew his hands with a resigned sigh. "You're loyalty to Stefan touches me, really. It's just a shame his doesn't match yours."

Elena's eyes widened and he knew instantly he'd touched a nerve. He knew it was harsh, but she needed to face up to it – things were going too far.

"For the record, I'm not conflicted between two women. I _know _who I want, and that isn't going to change."

Elena watched with a sad expression on her face, believing each word he said and knowing that he was right. She didn't know how things were going to work out – things had gotten so complicated all of a sudden. But she couldn't think about it now – the need for blood was becoming over-whelming and she knew that the sticky red liquid was all she needed. Everything else would have to wait until after she'd become a proper vampire.

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**Press that button you, know you want to ;) xx**


	3. Chapter 3

**Confessions and Compulsion**

**A/N: Hey! I'm laced-scrawl and I wrote this chapter, though the idea is pompeystar's! We hope you like it, and we'd love to know what you think so don't forget to let us know! ;) Enjoy! xx **

* * *

Bonnie Bennet loved the smell of grimoires; musty with an aroma of undiscovered knowledge. The soft texture of the old, fragile pages appealing flitted through her fingers as she carefully turned them, her eyes scanning the perfectly inked words and occasional sketches. She was currently relaxing after an incredibly long day; she and Luka had finally destroyed the moonstone, and for the first time in a long time, she felt relaxed. Not only did she have less to worry about, but she was now sure that things were getting more interesting between her and Luka. She found him mysteriously intriguing, and she was sure after the way he'd flirted with her today that something was going to happen between them.

She turned another page and saw a neatly written title in old calligraphy; 'Talismans'. That was strange: she'd leafed through this grimoire many times before – how had she missed an entire chapter? _Especially _one so important on something she'd needed information on? She ran a hand through her hair in confusion before proceeding to read the chapter.

Up until the second page, nothing jumped out at her. It was all information she already knew. But the second page had a sub-heading; _'Destroying a Talisman'. _ Her eyes widened and she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She'd had the answer all along – she'd just never seen it! She swallowed hard and started to read, though by the end of it, she genuinely wished she hadn't.

_In order for a talisman to be destroyed, it needs to be assaulted with an extreme amount of power from more than one witch. The power needs to be so strong that it can't be broken in any way. Usually, it takes many years for a witch to possess even a fraction of that power, and the process requires much practice to ensure the power is unbreakable. The spell to destroy a talisman varies greatly, depending on its power. The same spell cannot be used for a different talisman…_

The sentence was left unfinished because the page was torn. Not that it mattered. Bonnie had acquired all of the information she needed to know for a fact that the moonstone was far from destroyed.

Suddenly everything sunk in, all at once, and the young witch was overcome with nausea.

Luka had _lied_ to her. The spell he'd used had done something else to the moonstone, and now, he had it! She'd trusted him and he'd betrayed her.

And now, the fate of her best friend, herself and Mystic Falls was in the hands of someone else. Someone who had deceived her so easily and effortlessly. Someone who couldn't be trusted.

And it was all her fault.

**x-x-x**

Sweet and tangy.

She'd never expected fresh human blood to taste of anything but metallic copper, yet here she was, gulping it down relentlessly as though it was the sweetest nectar. She knew she should have been disgusted with herself; she _was _devouring a young woman's blood and relishing the taste of it after all. But the unbearable, all-consuming blood lust coursing through her was all she could think about.

She'd been scared. Of course she had! It wasn't like she'd read a book previously that detailed the process of becoming a vampire. Even though she did know roughly what to expect, she found herself acutely aware that it meant nothing when actually faced with the situation. The prospect of sinking her teeth into a human being terrified her, but the thought of dying scared her even more. She was an emotional wreck.

Thank God for Damon Salvatore.

Elena couldn't quite believe how amazing he'd been. He'd turned his back on the serious conversation they'd had to focus on getting her through the transition process quickly and safely. Shutting off emotions: another added extra packaged in with becoming a vampire. She'd have to learn how to do that sometime.

Damon had quickly sought out a passing victim for her, compelled her with instructions to not run away or be scared, and talked Elena through 'the art of biting correctly'. He did all of this with swift precision, probably aware that her hunger was starting to take over her. She knew that next time he took her out to hunt, she'd have to take care of the compulsion herself, but it was something she didn't want to think about until the time came. She couldn't handle everything all in one go; her head already felt like it was about to explode. Before she'd stepped forward to take hold of the helpless woman and consequently, take hold of her life, Damon had solemnly promised to stop her from going too far. Elena had nodded gratefully – not trusting herself to speak. He stood back, allowing her the freedom to deal with things her own way, and she was momentarily stunned by how well he knew her. Stefan would have suffocated and coddled her, had he been the brother involved in the situation, and she found herself pleased that he wasn't. She still loved him beyond belief, but Damon's practicality and ease was more reassuring to her than a safe hug and kiss.

She'd taken hold of the woman and swept her hair to the side, exposing her long, tempting neck. The urge to consume erupted suddenly within her and within a few short seconds her fangs had elongated and she'd sunk her teeth directly into the warm flesh.

The feeling of the sticky red liquid cascading down her throat and richly coating her tongue was incredible. It was unlike anything she'd ever experienced before in her life, and she found herself thinking that she could easily get used to it. It was like eating the richest, sweetest tasting chocolate after being denied it for so long.

She didn't know how long she'd been drinking; the unfamiliar, overpowering sensations had made her lose all sense of time, but moments later, two strong arms were pulling her away. She clung on to the body, not wanting to relinquish her hold on what was giving her so much pleasure, but the arms were annoyingly persistent.

"That's enough, Elena," came Damon's voice from a seemingly far-off place.

"No!" she mumbled, trying to sink her fangs in deeper. For a split second, she thought she'd won the struggle, until she was pushed backwards roughly, the woman's limp body ripped from her. She stumbled backwards, catching her balance before she fell down. It took her a few moments to adjust to the loss of her food source, and process the situation. She was a _vampire_. Officially. She'd completed transition. There was no turning back now. She licked the rest of the blood off her lips and swallowed it eagerly; _how could blood taste so good? _She placed her hand over her heart and was unnerved to not feel it beat. Not once.

She watched with a dazed expression as Damon dealt with the girl; feeding her his blood and compelling her to forget anything ever happened to her before sending her on her way. When he'd finished he turned and gave her a small smile.

"You ok?"

Elena nodded slowly, not really sure if she was. She felt energised and rejuvenated, yet her head ached slightly and her eyes felt a little heavy. Her body seemed to be full of contradictions.

Damon noticed her expression and walked towards her. He kept his face blank – not trusting actual emotion to show up on his face. He was a little unnerved at seeing her feed from a human being; the thought of Elena as a vampire was weird enough, but actually seeing it was incredibly unsettling. She was innocent and pure. She was human and _normal_. She wasn't supposed to become one of them. Not like this.

He couldn't shake the thought that it _should_ have been Stefan with her now, by her side, holding her hand. She was supposed to turn to be with him. And yet, Stefan was locked in a tomb with Katherine doing God only knew what, and _he_ was here. Helping her through the process of becoming a vampire. He was by her side, holding her hand and simply being there. He was behaving like a love-struck boyfriend. It wasn't normal. That wasn't what he did. It suddenly occurred to him that he'd have to teach her how to compel people and do things on her own. She was going to be spending a lot of time with him and, whilst he liked the idea, he knew that it was going to be far from easy. If her feelings were all over the place before, they were about to get even more tangled up, as being a vampire meant a heightened sense of everything. Unless she shut her humanity off – but that was something he wouldn't allow to happen.

"You did well," he said, tilting her chin so that she looked directly at him. "I thought you would've put up more of a fight to be honest."

"Disappointed are you?" she asked in a teasing voice that sounded odd given her passive facial expression.

"Not disappointed, _impressed._"

Elena smiled at the compliment and ran a hand through her hair, still in awe of what she'd done. She looked at her hands and saw them in a new light – as though they weren't her hands anymore. It was the first time she'd done something like that, and she knew it wouldn't be the last. She was no longer a young girl anymore and she had to face up to it.

"It gets easier," Damon said, brushing some blood off of her cheek. She nodded, ignoring the spark that ran through her at his touch. She leaned into his hand and knew that she believed every word that he said. Things would have to get easier; she'd have to adjust to her new life as quickly as possible. The hard part was over…for now.

**x-x-x**

"I've been so stupid!" Bonnie exclaimed once she'd collapsed unceremoniously onto one of the comfy sofas in the Gilbert's living room. Jeremy sat next to her gingerly, not comfortable with emotional women. When he'd opened the door a few moments ago to the beautiful witch, the last thing he'd expected was for her to push past him into the living room and throw herself towards a couch.

"What's happened?" he asked, taking her hand. She sighed softly and accepted the comfort he was offering her. After she'd gotten over the initial shock of the discovery she'd made, she knew she had to tell someone. So she'd gotten into her car and driven to the first place she could think of, though which of the Gilbert 'siblings' she'd planned on confiding in was not entirely clear to her. Until she'd come up with a plan.

"I should've listened to you," she said quietly, her eyes focussing directly on his. "You were right about Luka."

At the mention of his name, Jeremy immediately sprang alert.

"What's he done?" he demanded, his eyes darkening. Bonnie swallowed hard, not realising just how strong Jeremy's dislike of Luka was. She knew that this would probably make his feelings ten times stronger, but it was the only way he'd agree to help her.

"Earlier today, I went to see him. I wanted to know whether he knew how to destroy the moonstone. He said that he didn't, but that we could figure it out…"

"So that's where you've been," he said in realisation. Bonnie nodded.

"Yeah. Research took us all day, and we performed the spell once it got dark."

"I'm guessing something went wrong…?" Jeremy said, not wanting to highlight the fact that he'd been trying to get hold of her all day. The truth was that he enjoyed hanging out with her, and he'd actually missed her today.

"He lied to me," she said, sighing heavily. "The spell we performed on the moonstone wasn't to destroy it. I don't know what it did exactly, but I was looking through one of Emily's grimoires just now and I know for a fact that the moonstone is very much intact."

Jeremy's eyes were wide in shock and confusion.

"Are you serious?"

"Yup," Bonnie nodded solemnly. "And now he has it."

Jeremy stood up and ran a hand through his already dishevelled hair.

"Oh my God!" he exclaimed. "This is bad, Bonnie! What are we going to do?"

Bonnie bit back a smile at his choice of words; _we_. That was why she knew Jeremy was the best person to go to. She knew he'd be willing to help her. Now, all she had to do was convince him.

"I have an idea, but it's a little risky."

"Tell me," he said, concerned but happy to finally be included in something.

"I was thinking that we could break into the house and get back the moonstone."

The silence that this met with was deafening.

"What?" Jeremy exclaimed in shock.

"I know it sounds crazy, but-"

"You think!" he interrupted. "We could easily get caught – it's not like it's an average house! Do you even know where it could be?"

"I have an idea! And I know they're out at the moment – we'd be an hour tops!" Bonnie blurted out, trying to get him to see past his obvious fears. "Please, Jeremy, I'm begging you! I know there are a lot of things that could go wrong, but we _need_ that moonstone. Elena's life is on the line…"

Jeremy began to soften and Bonnie knew it was working.

"You know I'm going to do it, right? With or without you."

That was the final push he needed. Bonnie mentally congratulated herself as he turned to her with a defeated expression.

"Ok. Let's do it."

**x-x-x**

"Drink?"

Elena looked up to see Damon standing by his drink's cabinet, vintage bottle of scotch held in between his hands, tilted towards her as an invitation. She shook her head.

"No thanks."

"Suit yourself," he replied, pouring himself a glass and placing the bottle back in its rightful place. Elena fiddled with a loose thread on the cushion she'd placed in her lap, pulling at it so that it was long enough to twist around her fingers. It had been a long day, and she wanted nothing more than to curl up in bed and go to sleep. But she couldn't do that. Damon had forbidden her from going home as there was no way she'd be able to control herself around humans. The thought of hurting her family in any way was enough to keep her away, but she wasn't happy about it.

"How long before I can go home?" she asked curiously. Damon took a sip of his favourite drink before plastering a fake hurt expression on his face.

"And there was me thinking that you loved it here!"

Elena rolled her eyes.

"That's not what I meant."

Damon nodded, sat next to her and threw his arm around the back of the couch.

"A while. You need to learn how to control the blood lust and that'll take some time."

Elena sighed and nodded heavily.

"Great. So, I'm stuck here with you."

Damon grinned.

"I'm sure we'll find some way to pass the time…" he said as he ran his free hand through her hair. Elena forced herself to pull away from him, but didn't get up from where she was – something that didn't go unnoticed by Damon.

"Where am I going to sleep?" she asked suddenly, the thought popping into her head. She didn't really want to sleep in Stefan's room, given the circumstances, but she'd never slept anywhere else when she'd been there.

"Well my room's available," Damon joked, his grin widening as she shot him an unimpressed look. "Relax; there are plenty of guest rooms. Choose whichever one you want."

Elena nodded thankfully and got up to take a look at them. The moment she'd stood up, she felt the air around her tighten. Damon must have felt it too, because within a second he was up and in front of her protectively. She peeked from around his shoulder and felt her jaw drop.

"Elijah?"

The corners of the Original's lips quirked up as he nodded his greeting.

"Elena, Damon. How _nice _to see you both."

Damon's eyes darkened.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"I was in the neighbourhood," he said as he walked towards them. "Thought I'd stop by and say hello."

"Oh, hello! Now leave."

Elena tried to steady her breathing but couldn't control the fear trickling through her; Elijah's mere presence was enough to send chills down her spine. And Damon's attitude wasn't helping matters at all.

"Not before I've said what I need to say," Elijah said, looking at Elena directly before turning his eyes back to Damon's. "And something tells me that this will be easier without your input."

Before Damon or Elena could blink, Elijah had stepped directly in front of Damon, his eyes focussed on the blue orbs.

"You will go upstairs to your room and leave us alone. You will not come back down and you will not eavesdrop."

Damon nodded, repeated his understanding of the information, and walked out of the living room. Elena watched with a dazed expression, suddenly feeling very alone, and very vulnerable. Elijah had _compelled _Damon; the one person she was supposed to feel safe with. She'd always imagined him to be invincible, and yet, he'd just been compelled by an Original. Just like that.

She watched as Elijah's brow furrowed in confusion, before his eyes widened.

"You're a vampire."

It was a statement. Not a question.

"H-how do you…"

"I can't hear your heart beat," he stated, his face becoming passive again. "Well, this is unexpected."

Elena couldn't think of anything to say. She was in a severe state of shock and couldn't quite believe what was going on. Luckily for her, Elijah seemed to be in his own world.

"Klaus is not going to be happy when he finds out about this…" he muttered to himself as he began to pace.

"What do you mean?" he asked, her voice hoarse. Elijah turned to look at her.

"You're a vampire now, Elena. That means that you are no longer useful to him. He's not going to be happy."

Elena nodded, understanding the meaning behind his words. Even though one part of the problem was fixed, she had managed to inflate the other half by angering the most powerful vampire of all time. Why couldn't her life be simple?

"What do you want?" Elena asked tiredly, not in the mood for games.

"I want to make a deal with you." Elijah said in a business-like manor. "I know you think that you have no reason to trust me, and I don't blame you, but I'm a man of my word."

Elena eyed him sceptically, unsure of whether he was serious.

"What kind of a deal?"

Elijah smiled wistfully.

"I want Klaus dead, as do you. You are the last Petrova doppelganger, and until Klaus comes to meet us all personally, I need you to stay alive. In return, I promise to protect you and your friends from him."

Elena frowned.

"So, you know how to kill Klaus?"

"I have a hunch," he said in a tone that clearly stated that he wasn't going to tell her anything else.

"Why do you want to kill Klaus?" she asked, not expecting him to tell her. She was right.

"I have my reasons," he said shortly. "So, do we have a deal?"

Elena thought about it and couldn't come up with a concrete reason to not accept. Her gut was telling her to trust him, even though she knew she shouldn't. Damon and Stefan certainly wouldn't be happy.

But they weren't here.

"Ok, but on one condition."

Elijah tilted his head in question.

"I want you to let Stefan and Katherine out of the tomb, and I don't want you to hurt them."

If Elijah was surprised by her request, he covered it well.

"Stefan I can understand, but Katherine?"

"I have my reasons," she replied in the same monotone he'd said the words in. Elijah nodded in bemusement before holding his hand out for her to shake. Elena looked at it before sighing and placing her hand in his.

"I'll see you around," he said before walking to the front door and leaving for the tomb.

* * *

**So guys, what did you think? xx**

**NB: Just for the record, I've noticed that a lot of you have been favouriting this story, but haven't been reviewing it, please, if you favoirite it, can you review as well please xx :D**

**Thanks xx**


	4. Chapter 4

**Confessions and Compulsion**

**Hey guys xx So I wrote this chapter, Im pretty sure laced-star is gonna write ch5 xx I've included some things that might surprise you, so be warned xx Oh and WARNING; mild language.**

**If it goes according to plan, there should be some more damon and elena moments**, **and we'll be starting on a caroline storyline as well xx**

**So, I'm not saying we're gonna go by what you guys say, we just want your opinions, if you had a choice, for this story, would it be Tyler/Caroline, Matt/C, or something we haven't seen before, like...**

**Stefan/Caroline?**

**Read... and please, review ;) xx**

**Enjoy! **

* * *

"Your releases have been requested." Elijah's voice rang with authority as he stepped into the shadows of the tomb. "You're both free to leave." He indicated the exit with his hand. "Please, come."

"I can't." Stefan's brow was furrowed in confusion as h questioned the older vampire.

"Yes you can. I've had the spell lifted." Cautiously, Stefan took several steps forward until he was by Elijah's side. He turned and adopted the exact same position and stance Elijah had.

"What about-"

Elijah cut him off. "You too Katerina."

Katherine's expression was almost comical in the way she turned to stare, shocked, at Stefan.

"Wha-"

"The lovely Elena drives a hard bargain, however, we reached a peaceful agreement, she and I."

There was a sudden blur of movement, and suddenly Elijah was blocking Katherine's way out into the world. His pupils dilated as he looked her in the eyes. "You will stay in Mystic Falls, and you'll help protect the doppelganger, everything needs to be ready for when Klaus comes." With a brief nod at Stefan, Elijah walked purposely out of the tomb.

"Katherine, why would Elena want you out of the tomb…?"

A mixture of emotions flashed over Katherine's face. Shock. Fear. Anger. Confusion. It finally settled on the emotion Stefan was most familiar with.

Seduction.

She walked slowly towards him, and rested two ands on his chest. From an outsider's point of view, the gesture would have looked gentle and loving, but Stefan could feel the steel in the way her nails dug into his skin.

Temptingly slowly, she leant forward to brush her lips against his earlobe.

Stefan shuddered.

Out of desire or revulsion, he didn't know.

"She knows about us, Stefan."

**x - x – x**

"So now that you've been compelled, does it take away your vampire status?" Elena smirked, trying to hide her unease at Damon's expression.

"I don't like it. If I can be compelled, then so can others. We can't trust anyone. It's not like we can drink vervain or anything."

Elena looked up at him quickly, knowing that they'd both thought of the same thing. "Well why not?"

"How about the fact that it's poison Elena?"

"Why couldn't you drink it though? Stefan told me about what Katherine did. She'd been sipping it for a hundred and forty five years." She saw Damon's mouth open, about to interrupt her, but she hurried on, cutting across him. "I know there's an age gap and all, but think about it, you're powerful right? Even for your age. Stefan's getting there, with the drinking human blood thing; he's building up his strength, so why couldn't you try it?" She raced down into the cellar, plucked a sprig of vervain from the crop, and, ignoring the burning sensation in her palm, she returned to the living room and dropped the tiny purple flower on the table. "Mix it with blood, and you'd be getting both together, the source of your strength, and the source of building up your strength." Damon's frown deepened as he looked at her.

About to offer her own blood, she remembered that it wasn't the same as her blood when she was human. Disappointment of the century. "I'll just go and get some blood." She ran back downstairs to reach into the cooler and brought up a blood bag. She then threw it at Damon, with his quick reflexes; he caught it, but didn't notice Elena's deep breathing, or the black veins erupting over her face.

"Is your hand alright?" The sizzling of her skin hadn't gone unnoticed by him.

Keeping her face turned away, she gave a quick nod, but curled her hand into a fist. Fact was, the flesh there still wasn't healed, she'd held it long enough so that the small flower had burnt the skin through to the tendons underneath. She gave a little hiss of pain.

He was there in front of her then. Gently, he took her hand and uncurled it. Elena looked up at him through her eyelashes to see his expression. He looked pissed, beyond pissed actually.

"You shouldn't touch that stuff at your age Elena, you're barely hours old." She looked up at him fully, and he saw her face. Surprise graced his beautiful face. "Elena, if you're thirsty, all you had to do was ask."

She shook her head quickly. She couldn't breathe; the mere awareness of the blood being in the room was enough to drive her crazy. "I'm scared." Referring to the blood. She knew she couldn't handle it right now.

He gave a small huff of exasperation. "Fine. But just remember, you asked for it." And then, so quickly that he new senses barely had time to register it, he ripped his wrist open with his teeth and held it up to her mouth.

Automatically, her tongue darted out to taste the dangerously seductive red liquid. The flavour then exploded on her tongue.

Sweet beyond belief. Ten times more explosive than what she had drank from the human. Her mouth was tingling.

It was blood, but not a human's.

She knew that she could stop, because it was from a vampire.

Elena pulled away, and involuntarily glanced down at her hand to see layer after layer of skin stretch itself across her palm.

"Thank you." She said to the other vampire gratefully. He nodded tightly, then twisted to fill his glass with blood, then hurriedly dropped the vervain in after it. Damon picked up the glass and moved it about a little bit, so that the herb could dissolve a bit.

Elena watched with bated breath as, as if he was swigging down a shot, he chugged down the contents of the glass. His face convulsed, then softened again.

"Well. That's definitely an acquired taste."

She smiled in relief, thank god. She thought he was going to be sick or something. "I'm glad you got that over with, now we don't have to worry about anyone compelling you, and I know Elijah made a promise to me, but I still don't trust him."

Damon looked at her quickly. "About that, what happened after I went upstairs?"

"We made a deal. He said it was in his best interest to protect me and protect everyone I love until Klaus comes, until when he's going to kill him. Then I got him to go and let Katherine and Stefan out."

In the space of barely twenty seconds, Damon's expression had gone from questioning to thunderous.

"You made a deal with him, and then got him to free Katherine and Stefan? Why the hell would you do that Elena?" He yelled.

Elena flinched; she hadn't expected this kind of reaction from him. "Damon, it's the only way to keep everyone safe!" She pleaded with him. Why couldn't he see that she was only trying to protect the ones she cared about?

"That I can understand, but why free Katherine along with Stefan? Have you got a death wish or something Elena?"

Elena's eyes dropped, along with her heart.

If Damon didn't understand, then no-one would.

"I've go my reasons for wanting them both out of there." She said dully, before turning to walk out of the room.

All of a sudden, Damon was in front of her, black veins prominent around his eyes as he blocked her way to the exit. "Don't fuck with me Elena." His hands darted out to grab her shoulders, none too gently either. "Why free Katherine huh? She was practically the one that killed you!"

At the mention of her death, Elena, with a short burst of angry strength, shoved him. Surprised, Damon fell sideways, but was on his feet again in an instant.

But she was gone.

"Elena!" He hollered.

_Shit._

Elena wasn't stable right now, she could hurt someone.

_Or,_ a little voice in his head murmured, _she's gone running back to Saint Stefan._

With a bellow of anger and pain, Damon's fist darted out to punch the wall.

_If she kills someone, so be it, it's not my problem._

But not so deep beneath the surface, he knew that she wouldn't hurt anyone, not really.

Just because it was Elena.

**x - x – x**

Thanking God for the night, Elena ran as fast as she could out of the boarding house.

She was blind. Her sight was blinded by her tears.

Damon didn't know what it was like for her. To have turned without wanting to. He'd been completely willing; he had wanted to turn to be with the one he loved.

_I know that isn't true though. He hates what he is, and he always has. _She thought.

Elena had never really planned to turn, not really. Caroline had been right, she was way too maternal not to have kids. Her little fantasy, she'd wanted a little house with a little whit picket fence with Stefan. But deep down she'd always known that she couldn't have that, if she did turn one day, she had wanted it to be her choice.

Not like this though.

Damon was right. About freeing Katherine. The truth was, she loved Stefan, so much that it had killed her, but her feelings for Damon were quickly spiralling out of control. Especially after she knew how he felt for sure after her little flashback.

She loved Stefan, but she knew he still had feelings for Katherine, so if he truly loved her, she, Elena Gilbert, wasn't going to stand in the way of that.

That's why she had freed Katherine.

She loved Stefan so much that she protected a woman she hated.

Elena's vision cleared to find herself in the gloomy darkness of the cemetery. _I should be here. _She thought. _I should have died tonight._

A fresh burst of tears ran down her face as she fell to her knees in front of two graves.

"Oh dad. Mum. I've messed up so bad!"

**x – x – x**

"So I was thinking I could levitate you through the open window…" Bonnie started to say, but trailed off at the expression on Jeremy's face.

"Are you serious?"

"Hey, if you don't wanna do this, just tell me, and I'll go ahead and do it on my own." The corners of her mouth twitched through her solemn mask. _I think Jeremy has a thing for heights. _She thought.

"No its okay." He said quickly, masking his discomfort. "So, you want to levitate me through a window, then what?"

"Look, we would go through the front door, but it's most likely barred by magic, and I don't especially wanna try to open it. The window's open, so we can go through there."

Jeremy gulped. "When we get in there, what do we do?"

"Just look for the moonstone, you know, oval shaped rock, coloured white and…. Moon-like… look can we just get a move on?"

Jeremy smirked at her, she was nervous around him. He knew it. "Okay, go on then, levitate me up!"

He wasn't prepared for the sudden jerk that he felt. _Don't look down, you're gonna freak out. _He looked down to see Bonnie sneering at him. "Not so tough now are we Jer?"

"Just get me up there Bonnie."

Bonnie became smaller and smaller, as he went higher.

Higher.

Higher.

Higher.

Until-

_Smack._

"Bonnie!" She'd made him whack his head on the window's sill.

"Sorry!" Not sorry at all, she carried on. "Just grab the sill and hoist yourself in there, I'll be up in a sec."

Thankful for his ring, Jeremy grabbed the white window sill and lifted himself in through the open window; he was met by a dark, enclosed room, filled with dusty shelves filled with old, musty-smelling books.

He started to look for the talisman. He began to sift through ancient pieces of parchment methodically.

After a few minutes, he stood up straight again. Where was Bonnie?

"Bonnie!" He shouted.

"I'm here." He spun to face the stunning girl, who actually, was grinning.

"Weren't you meant to come in through the window?"

"Oh no, I just walked in through the front door." She smiled more widely as his mouth dropped open slightly. She turned away from him to trace the various grimoires behind her with her finger. Her shoulders were shaking.

Jeremy smiled to himself. They carried on searching through the room in comfortable silence, until-

"Bonnie, I really don't think that it's here."

"No, neither do I actually. But, just to make sure…" Bonnie moved to stand in the centre of the room.

She closed her eyes.

Under her breath, she started to murmur, so softly that Jeremy's ears barely even picked it up.

The air around the witch started to pulse gently, moving in time with her breathing, slowly, the space around her started to turn blue, until, with stick whistling through the air, the light extended in the blink of an eye.

Bonnie opened hers.

"It isn't here," she said, "that was a tracking spell, and I'm pretty sure it isn't here."

"Are you okay?" He moved towards her, hand extended, as if to offer aid.

"I'm fine Jeremy." She snapped suddenly, "that was hardly a difficult spell!" Jeremy drew back his offer of support, unsure of what to do. Her voice softened, "really Jer, I'm fine. It isn't here, let's just go."

**x – x – x**

Martin Jonas and his son, Luka, stood stock still in the clearing.

Waiting.

"Is he coming?" Asked the younger of the two.

"I don't know. He should be." Replied the other.

Luka's senses were tingling, all six of them. His eyes were hyper aware of every single movement in those trees, he could hear the faint whisper of the monsters of Mystic Falls, along with the slight smell of spice and magic in the breeze. His hands, along with his physic powers, were alive with unused power.

Jonas' ears perked suddenly, along with his sons'.

Elijah's footsteps resonated through the cold silence of the woods. He turned on his heel slightly to face both warlocks, stood straight and proud, he resembled any person's childhood nightmare. He started to saunter towards them woodenly, careful with where he placed his feet. "As you know," he began, "I have recently made a deal with our doppelganger, Elena. I have agreed to protect her, and the ones she loves, until Klaus comes. And as you both know, I am a man of my word. I have said to protect them, but I am careful with my words. Protect them from Klaus; but not from me."

Luka's eyebrows creased with confusion, he twisted slightly to look at his father, who didn't return the look, his attention was channelled directly on the vampire.

"As you are well aware, Dr Jonas, as an original, I am strong, but no match for the strength of _the _original. I need power, and lots of it. This town is crawling with supernatural creatures. All of them powerful, I alone am no match for Klaus. But-" Elijah broke off, staring at Jonas with a slight curve on his lips. "Dr Jonas, I see you've caught on."

Luka stole a quick glance at his father. Judging by the stunned look on his face, and the sudden horror and astonishment in his eyes, he knew exactly what Elijah wanted; and he really didn't like it.

"You want me to perform a draining spell." Jonas breathed, slowly, Elijah nodded, the slight curve of his lips becoming a full smile.

"Dad, what's-"

"Keep quiet boy, speak when you are spoken to!" Elijah snapped at him.

"Elijah, if Luka is to help me with the spell, then he needs to know what it is, does he not?"

The vampire looked as if e were struggling internally with something, before gracefully inclining his to head to allow Jonas to speak again.

"A draining spell is a spell where you draw the life and supernatural force from a or several supernatural entities, essentially draining their souls. Whoever is casting the spell then directs the drainage to the person of their choice. In this case, Elijah."

"You're going to kill every vampire, werewolf, and with in this town?" Luka's eyes were wide and revolted, his father answered with a curt nod. Luka made a split decision there and then. "I won't do it."

"Excuse me boy?" Snarled Elijah.

"I won't help, I will not march everyone to their death sentence." In his mind, Luka thought of the little witch he'd spent the last few days with.

Despite everything, she was kin, and he wouldn't kill her.

"You'll do as I say! You want you sister back? Then you'll do as I say!"

_Marie…_

"No." Jonas' voice rang out loudly. "Elijah, there has to be another way. I, I mean _we, _won't kill the people here. Marie wouldn't want us to do that."

"You know Jonas, I've always admired your bravery, but there are other witches around you know. It's just a shame for your daughter." With a blur, he ran to stand before Jonas, and within that half second, Luka's father's unbeating heart lay in his left hand.

Luka's yell of terror and grief stayed trembling on his lips.

He had to get out of here.

_Dad…_

Fast, Luka clenched his fists and drew energy from his surroundings. God, it was so _easy. _With magic prickling at his palms, he threw it at Elijah to meet him halfway through his course to kill him. The greenish hue had circled him in darkness, encompassing him for a second.

Enough for Luka to make his escape.

_Dad…_

_Run Luka. Take a deep breath and never look back._

**x – x – x**

"I can't _believe _that it wasn't there."

Jeremy grit his teeth in irritation. Bonne hadn't stopped complaining ever since they'd gotten out of that godforsaken house. Jesus Christ, he knew h liked the girl and all, but did she really have to be such a girl?

He followed the witch into her home; he'd been here before of course, but years ago. Walking in slowly, he took in his surroundings. He remembered the deep red carpet, now faded, the cream wallpaper, the various pictures dotted along the corridor. Of her and Elena. Her and Caroline. Her, Caroline, and Elena. Candles planted everywhere, they made the house throb with energy and suspense, anticipating the future.

What in the future, Jeremy had no clue.

Bonnie was still babbling.

"Where is it then? I can't handle this I really can't, we need to find that moonstone or something awful is going to happen to my best friend-"

"Bonnie, _shut up."_

"Excuse me, but don't you _care-"_

"Bon, of course I care, we'll find it okay?"

Bonnie's face was solemn as she looked up a him, Jeremy was getting an extreme sense of déjà-vu as he placed a hand up to trace her cheekbone. "How do you know?"

"Because-" He paused, almost as if he had some secret he didn't want to share. "-I have faith."

"In what?"

"You Bonnie, I have faith in you." And then they were leaning closer and closer…

_Knock knock_

"Leave it." He murmured against her cheek. All he could think of was that he'd been _this close _to Bonnie Bennett's lips.

"I have to." And, extracting herself from his embrace, she turned and walked briskly towards the oak door behind them.

Jeremy would have quite happily punched something, even more when he saw who it was at the door.

Bonnie gasped. "Luka!"

Face bloody, Luka's breath rattled in his throat as his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he promptly collapsed.

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**So what did you think?**

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	5. Chapter 5

**Confessions and Compulsion**

**A/N: Hey! on behalf of Pompeystar and myself, we'd like to say thank you to everyone who reviewed/favourited and alerted the last chapter! We hope you like this chapter - there is some Delena as well as plenty of Katherine's vindictiveness! Please let us know what you think - we'd love to know what more of you thought! Enjoy! xxx**

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It wasn't until just before midnight that Elena returned to the Boarding house. Being a vampire had made her feel literally invincible, and so she'd decided to stay longer with her parents at the graveyard. If Elijah had kept his end of the deal, Stefan and Katherine would be out of the tomb by now, and the chaos bound to occur would prevent her from going to see them again for a while. She already didn't see them enough as it was.

"Damon?" she called as she stepped into the house, her voice quivering a little with apprehension. The way she'd left things with him made her feel horrible. Whilst sitting by her parents' graves, enveloped in a soothing silence, she'd thought over the entire conversation and realised how crazy she'd sounded. Of course Damon would be angry – how could he have understood her when she hadn't bothered to explain herself? She'd just gotten so used to him knowing her and understanding her that she'd expected him to know.

Silence greeted her and she frowned. If it wasn't for her heightened sense of hearing, she'd never have heard him moving around in the living room. She followed the faint sounds he was making until she could see him standing by the fire, scotch in hand, back to her.

They stood in silence for a few moments, neither sure of what to say. Elena, who had rehearsed her apology at least ten times in her head, was suddenly at a loss for words. Luckily for her, Damon saved her the trouble of initiating a conversation:

"So, you decided to come back then."

His voice was dry and flat – as though the scotch had burned a trail straight down his throat.

"You knew I would," Elena said, walking a little closer but making sure she still kept a friendly distance. She didn't know how long Damon had been drinking for, and he was obviously still angry with her. She knew he'd never hurt her, but she also knew how temperamental he was at the moment and didn't want to test him.

"Well, if you're looking for your boyfriend and his beloved whore, you're out of luck. They haven't shown up yet," Damon said bitterly. He was surprised at his own anger, though it was more towards himself than Elena. _He _should have been protecting her. Elijah had been able to compel him, which had not only highlighted his weakness compared to the Original, but had caused Elena to have to make a deal with him. A deal that would now impact their lives and cause Elena more pain than necessary. Stefan's feelings for Katherine were way more complicated than his, and having them both back in the same place was going to open up a can of worms that could never be closed.

"I'm not looking for them," she said calmly before walking to stand beside him. "I came to talk to you."

Damon turned to her for the first time since she'd arrived and fixed her with a cool stare.

"Isn't it a bit late for talking? The damage appears to have been done."

"Damon, I had to make a deal with him! It was the only way!" Elena exclaimed, suddenly irritated with his refusal to even listen to her. "I'm sorry for storming off and not explaining things properly, but if you don't understand now, I don't think you ever will!"

Damon's gaze softened slightly when he heard her voice break. He didn't want to make her cry; upsetting her was the last thing he wanted to do.

"Explain it to me now," he asked quietly. Elena eyed him sceptically until she was sure he was sincere, before walking to the couch and sitting down; the urge to put some distance between them as she explained herself was too strong to ignore.

"He loves her," she said quietly, her eyes fixed on his. "And before you start, I know he loves me, but I think we all know who he loves more. I won't stand in the way of that, and I know he won't be happy without her."

Damon stared at her in complete disbelief. He understood her – he honestly wouldn't have expected anything less from her, but her emotional strength never ceased to amaze him. If her actions had done anything, they had confirmed how right he was: she loved Stefan unconditionally, and that was that. He'd done something similar when he'd compelled her to forget his confession, and for the first time, found himself truly understanding the strength of her feelings towards Stefan. Her feelings for him could never compete.

"I think you seem to be forgetting exactly _who _Katherine is!" he exclaimed, swirling his glass around with his left hand. "Now that she's out, she's capable of anything. She doesn't care about anyone – not even everyone's _beloved_ Stefan! She looks out for herself and no one else."

Elena studied him for a minute.

"I think you're wrong."

Damon rolled his eyes. _Trust Elena to somehow see the best in her psychotic doppelganger! _

"Oh really?" he goaded sarcastically.

"Yes, I do!" she replied determinedly. "I think she cares about one person besides herself; Stefan. And I think you know that too – you just don't want to admit it because a part of you is hurt by the fact that it isn't you."

Within a second, Damon was kneeling in front of her, his blue eyes suddenly ablaze and his face darkened. Somewhere in his swift movements, he'd placed his glass down and had trapped her on the couch with both of his hands.

"Do _not _psycho-analyse me, Elena," he warned in between clenched teeth. "I hate it when people do that, and they often don't live for very long after."

_I should be scared of him, but I'm not,_ Elena thought to herself as she watched the vampire in front of her. She knew she'd hit the proverbial nail directly on the head: he knew that if Katherine was going to care about anyone else in the world, it would be Stefan. Not him. And even though he claimed to be over her, she could tell that the blatant rejection bothered him.

"Not denying it though, are you?" she whispered, suddenly very aware of how close he was.

Damon growled, his head buzzing with an array of emotions: anger, frustration lust and of course, love – arguably the worst of all because it over-ruled the others. He hated it when people tried to see into his mind – tried to work out what he was feeling, mainly because he worked so hard to keep his humanity concealed from others. But she was the exception. She could see through him in one glance, cut him down with one sentence, and he'd never be able to do anything about it. Because he loved her.

He leaned a little closer to her, and was mildly surprised when she didn't lean back. Their eyes seemed to be locked together in a strong gaze; unblinking, unwavering. She knew she should look away from him, get up and go upstairs to wait for Stefan, but his eyes were like liquid pools of fire, and she was quite content to drown in them. Just as he started to lean closer still, the front door opened and they sprang apart.

"Well, well, well. This is…_cosy_!"

The sickly sweet sound that came to their ears sent a shiver down their spines. Elena looked up and immediately winced – looking at her own face on someone else would never cease to shock her. She took in the smirk on her doppleganger's face and her general arrogant stance and found herself doubting her decision. _Maybe letting Katherine out too was a mistake?_

Her eyes shifted to make contact with Stefan's, but he was looking determinedly away from her. _Great_, she thought irritably. _And I was afraid this was going to be awkward. _She ran her eyes over him quickly to make sure he was physically ok, and found that there was nothing alarming about his appearance. In fact, it was as though he'd never been away. His skin did seem a little paler (if that was even possible) due to the lack of exposure to sunlight it had gotten in the tomb, but that was it.

"Katherine," Damon said tightly, both irritated at her presence, and for ruining the moment.

"_Damon!"_ she exclaimed in a sugary tone that did nothing to conceal her contempt. "How _nice _to see you again."

"How nice indeed," he said bitterly before walking towards Stefan. "No greeting from you, little brother? I'm hurt, really."

Stefan rolled his eyes before smiling tightly.

"I see the house is still in one piece. That's reassuring," he said in an attempt to lighten the mood. Elena frowned; his voice sounded different somehow – stronger, and she couldn't work out why it bothered her. Did it have something to do with Katherine? And why hadn't he spoken to her? She assumed it was due to the extreme guilt he was feeling, but it hurt all the same.

"Have you got anything to drink, Damon _dearest_? I'm parched!" Katherine complained, bored of being ignored and genuinely quite thirsty. Damon rolled his eyes at her.

"And what makes you think that I'd give you anything? I don't know if you've noticed, Katherine _sweetheart_, but I don't particularly like you!"

Stefan's eyes hardened but Katherine laughed, as though she'd expected him to say something like that.

"Oh Damon, that's not a very nice thing to say to your new house guest, is it?"

Damon's jaw dropped whilst Elena felt guilt engulf her. This was all her fault. As crazy as it sounded, she'd never thought about where Katherine would stay once she was out of the tomb. But now the answer seemed obvious – she'd stay with Stefan, and Stefan would stay _here_. It didn't matter whether they broke up or not, Katherine was back in the hub of the Salvatore home, and she wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

"Over my dead body!" Damon exclaimed angrily. "You staying here was not part of any deal and I'll be damned before I let that happen!"

"Damon…" Stefan started. "Just let her stay! She has nowhere else to go –"

"Not my problem Stefan!" Damon replied, not impressed by his brother's charitable act. "My house my rules, and if you don't like it, you can go too!"

"Mature, Damon. Really, it's good to see you've grown up!" Katherine said sarcastically, clearly enjoying the drama she was causing. Damon growled in anger and Stefan took a step towards him.

"Damon…" he said in a warning voice.

The brothers locked eyes and argued non-verbally for a few moments. The tension in the room became stifling and Elena, who seemed to have been forgotten, found it unbearable.

"Everyone just calm down!" she pleaded. Stefan turned to her for the first time and suddenly, everyone else faded away. Looking at her after so long made him see the innocence exuding from her. He'd become so accustomed to the darkness surrounding Katherine that he'd forgotten how refreshing and liberating the light glowing from Elena was. Suddenly, the guilt he'd been trying to repress surfaced, and his eyes misted over.

"Elena- "

"Shhh!" Katherine hushed suddenly, her head tilted in concentration. "Don't say anything!"

Stefan looked at her in confusion and Damon quirked an eyebrow.

"Can't you hear that?" she asked, her face deadly serious.

"_What_?" Stefan asked impatiently.

"No heartbeat," she replied, a smug smile on her face. She turned to Elena, her eyes sparkling with mirth. "Well, well, _twin_! Didn't know you had it in you!"

"_Be quiet Katherine!_" Damon said in a low, threatening voice. His eyes narrowed in anger.

Stefan's eyes were wide as realisation hit him, and he turned to Elena with a hurt expression.

"Elena…" he started, clearly in shock. "What…_how?_"

"I can explain," Elena said, her voice heavy with emotion as tears began to pour down her face. She'd never felt so much contempt towards someone in her life. She'd never expected Katherine to express any kind of gratitude towards her for getting her out of the tomb, but she certainly hadn't expected her to snatch away her right to tell Stefan about everything like that. This was not how things were supposed to be. "Can we talk?"

Damon watched as Elena tried to plead with Stefan, her cheeks glossy with tears, and repressed the urge to take her into his arms and whisk her away from all of this.

"Yes, I think that's a good idea," Katherine interjected, stroking Stefan's arm with one of her long fingernails. "The two of you have so much to talk about!"

Stefan gulped uneasily before pulling away from Katherine and walking towards the stairs whilst Elena choked back a sob, wiped her eyes and went after him. Damon glared at Katherine who was smiling triumphantly, and stopped himself from throwing her into the wall.

"So, Damon," Katherine said as she sauntered over to the couch and sat down, exactly where Elena had been sitting. "How about that drink?"

**x-x-x**

Once in Stefan's bedroom, the couple lapsed into an awkward silence. Stefan collapsed onto his bed and cradled his head in his hands. Elena felt her heart ache for him, but couldn't shake the niggling feeling of betrayal that was prominent in her mind.

After a few moments, Stefan sat up and looked at her with glassy eyes and a hurt expression.

"How did this happen?"

Elena sighed.

"I was driving and my car skidded on the ice. I went over Wickery Bridge. I still had your blood in my system which is why I'm still here," she explained, trying to keep the details as simple as possible. "Damon found me."

"I did this to you?" he whispered softly with a dejected expression.

"Your blood _saved _me!" she said firmly, not wanting him to torture himself about it. "Without it I would be dead!"

"I never wanted this life for you, Elena!" he said, looking her directly in the eyes.

"It was never your choice to make, Stefan."

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Where were you going anyway?"

Elena swallowed hard. And now came the hard part.

"I don't know. I was upset and I needed to get away."

Stefan frowned.

"Why were you upset?"

Elena sighed and wrung her hands together nervously.

"I saw you with Katherine."

Stefan's eyes widened and Elena knew she didn't have to say anything else. As each wave of guilt hit him, Stefan became more and more devastated, and she had to stop herself from reaching out to him. He'd broken her heart, and guilt was a consequence he'd have to deal with.

"Elena, I am so, so sorry!" he pleaded, rushing towards her and cradling her face in his hands. "I swear it didn't mean anything…"

"Don't lie to yourself, Stefan," Elena said softly, her eyes focussing directly on his. "I know you still love her. It's so obvious. Just admit it to yourself."

Stefan shook his head indignantly.

"No, Elena, I love you! She doesn't even come close…"

"STOP IT STEFAN!" Elena yelled, pulling away from him. "You have feelings for her, feelings that are so deep you can barely understand them yourself! I know you love me, but anyone can see that you love her too."

There was silence and Elena watched as Stefan began to take in her words. She knew it was harsh and probably not the best way to approach such a delicate subject, but she needed him to confront his own feelings before things got even messier.

"Elena," he said after a while. "You need to know that I still love you. Regardless of what I feel for her, I love _you_."

Elena inwardly rolled her eyes, trying so hard to keep up the make-shift iron shields she'd put up around her heart. His words were getting to her; even through the tangled mess that were her feelings for both of the Salvatore Brothers, hearing him say that he still loved her made her heart flutter. It gave her hope. But the betrayal hanging over them like a dark shadow swiftly popped back into her mind, and she was forced to concentrate on the matter at hand.

"Stefan, if you loved me, you wouldn't have kissed her. You wouldn't have done anything, because the thought of me would have been enough…"

"Normally yes, but being in such an enclosed space does things to you!" Stefan exclaimed in a pleading tone, trying to get her to understand. He knew that what he was saying probably made no sense, and that it really wasn't fair on Elena, but he simply didn't want to let go of everything they had. He couldn't walk away from her. He loved her – even if his heart seemed to be slipping away from her.

"You know what blood lust feels like," he continued, keeping his eyes locked on hers. "You know how it feels to be so consumed by it that nothing makes sense anymore. It's part of being a vampire. But imagine what it feels like to be so deprived of it that you can feel yourself withering away. She was there and I was weak."

Elena swallowed hard and wrapped her arms around herself.

"What do you want me to say, Stefan? What do you want to do?"

"I want us to stay together!" he said, stepping closer to her. "We belong together, Elena, and I know we can figure this out!"

Elena sighed and ran a hand through her hair. Was this really what she wanted? To go back to square one with Stefan? How could they have a relationship when they both had feelings for other people? She knew she loved him, but she wasn't sure it was enough?

"Stefan, I need time," she said slowly, needing him to understand her. "I honestly don't know what to think anymore, and what you did still hurts. I don't know if it's fixable."

There was a heartbreaking silence and neither had the strength to break it with lies to make them feel better. Their relationship that had once been so perfect, was now bittersweet and on the verge of being lost forever. Neither could find their voices to say that the feelings they'd once harbored for each other were no longer strong enough to keep them together. But there were no words to describe the feeling of loss they both felt at that moment, mainly because there was a small, minuscule percentage of both of them that felt a sense of freedom. Almost as though the ropes that had been binding them together so tightly had been loosened and they could breathe again. Elena sighed heavily and all but ran out of his room. Maybe time apart was what they needed in order for them to determine their future together? For now though, she knew that she had bigger things to worry about - mainly her psychotic clone who was downstairs now, alone with Damon.

**x-x-x**

"You don't have to look so angry!" Katherine said as Damon continued to scowl at her from his place at the window in the living room. "And to think there was a time when you'd have killed to be alone with me!"

Damon's glare gained intensity as she blinked at him through her thick eyelashes, her face a picture of feigned innocence.

"Ah yes, the good old days when you were screwing both me and Stefan. Fun times."

Katherine giggled and got up from her seat.

"I don't know why you hate me so much, Damon. If anything you should be thanking me!"

"_Thanking _you?" Damon repeated, raising an eyebrow. "Why the hell should I be thanking you?"

"Because," she said as she made her way over to him. "I've taken Stefan out of your way! Now you can have Elena all to yourself, and no one is going to stand in your way!"

Damon rolled his eyes.

"She loves Stefan, and Stefan loves her. He'd never go back to you - he hates you!"

"I wouldn't be so sure of that if I were you," she said as she walked closer to him. Damon leaned away from her and gulped down the rest of his fifth glass of scotch that evening.

"Whatever Katherine! This isn't important. You have bigger things to worry about - like where you're going to stay!"

Katherine rolled her eyes.

"You know as well as I do that I'm staying right here, and there's nothing you can do about it!" Damon glared at her. "We'll have so much fun! All of us together under the same roof - _a twisted love square." _

Before Damon could reply, Katherine sped to his drinks cabinet and poured herself a glass of vintage whiskey. He growled and felt anger course through him. It was going to be a long night.

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	6. Chapter 6

**Confessions and Compulsion**

**Heya guys :P xx**

**Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up, half term was a lot more hectic than I thought it would be, but I managed to write this all up by hand while I was away, then it took me about two days to type it up... but here it is now :)**

**So, I've started on the whole Caroline bit, we've got a little bit of delena here, along with a shock Bonnie scene... We're starting to develop the plot a little bit more now, we're gearing up for the heave plot chapters ;) xx**

**Laced-scrawl said to me that she's nearly finished chapter 7, so you shouldn't have long to wait... I don't think anyway! :) xx**

**Enjoy xxx**

**Oh and WARNING- slight language in this chapter xx**

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"That'll be two vodkas please." Caroline smiled at the Grill's barman, flicking her hair off her face.

"I'm gonna have to see some ID miss."

Caroline's smile dropped, along with her voice, as she locked gazes with the man. "No you don't, and you'll make those drinks on the house."

Mutely, the barman nodded and handed over the two glasses.

"How did you do that?" somewhere along the way, Tyler Lockwood's mouth had fallen open in astonishment.

Caroline gave him a small smile. "One of a vampires' many talents. Compulsion is one on a very long list."

"How can you be a vampire?"

"How can you be a werewolf?" She countered.

Tyler let out a groan and his head fell forward to slam against his hands resting on the bar top. "Don't remind me- you do realise the full moon's in three nights right? Do you even realise how screwed I am?" His voice was muffled as he spoke from the confinement of his arms. Hesitantly, Caroline reached out to place her hand on his shoulder.

"Look Tyler, you're not alone, there are people who can help you get through this. They just have to be found. If I can't find any other werewolves to help you then-" She took a deep breath, and dove straight in. "I will. You'll turn for the first time in your family's dungeons right? I'll guard the outside. I won't let anyone even come near you, and you'll never get near anyone." _Tactfully done Care_, she thought,_ just leave out the whole if-you-get-out-and-bite-me-I-die issue. _They'd find a werewolf though, it wouldn't come to that; Caroline was sure.

"You'd do that for me?" Tyler asked, his eyes wide.

"Yeah, but only if we don't find a werewolf to help you instead of me. It isn't the best idea for a vampire to be there…" She trailed off, Tyler shot her a questioning look, but she was determinedly looking away from him, ignoring the unspoken question.

Tyler smiled though, for the first time that night. "Thanks Care." He said softly, his intense brown eyes held her blue ones, and Caroline suddenly found that she couldn't look away.

His eyes morphed to blue, and suddenly she saw Matt staring at her. He opened his mouth and spoke, in Stefan's voice; _hold on Care;_ _do the right thing._

_What the hell is wrong with me?_

Embarrassed, she gave a loud, awkward cough, breaking the silence that had fallen between them. Using her speed, she knocked back her vodka, then indicated for Tyler to do the same.

"Come on. Let's go, we can talk more."

Tyler nodded and followed Caroline out. Outside in the cold, she turned, about to say something, but Tyler spoke over her.

"Look Care, I've known you almost since I was born, and I know you. You're keeping something from me; I _know_ you are. I just want you to know that whatever it is, you can trust me. You've done so much for me, and I'll do whatever I can to help you." He reached out and took her by the shoulders, drawing himself close and saying quietly; "Whatever you need, I'm here."

She should have pulled away right there and then.

The fact that she didn't was all he needed. Tyler leaned in slowly and kissed her, all thoughts of werewolves and vampires evaporating from his mind. Caroline wasn't there though, she closed her eyes and pictured Matt; it was Matt that was kissing her, and it was Stefan's arms holding her. It was love and friendship all in one embrace.

But then she remembered that it was _Tyler_ kissing her, and he was neither of those people.

She raised her hand to push him away, but she'd kissed him back, so he'd already locked his hands behind her head. Caroline started to struggle against him, the kiss becoming almost _animal-_

"What the hell is going on here?"

Caroline whirled around to face a pair of angry blue eyes. "Matt! I promise this isn't what it looks like!" She gabbled, inwardly wincing at the whole cliché of that line.

"You son of a bitch!" Matt's fist darted out and connected with Tyler's nose. Caroline felt her teeth suddenly grow sharper and longer as a fountain of red spurted from Tyler's nose.

"Look, Matt-" Tyler started, coughing halfway through, the blood dripping into his own mouth.

"No Ty, you listen to me! Every time I give you another chance, and every time you screw it up!" Matt exclaimed, his voice almost cracking with the force of the betrayal. "Going after my girlfriend? _Really_? You dickhead-"

"Matt, listen to me," Caroline swivelled round to stand in front of Tyler. Still, Matt advanced as if she were invisible. "Look Matt, if you don't calm down, I'll-"

"You'll what Caroline? You'll do _what_?" he demanded, his eyes penetrating hers.

That stopped Caroline in her tracks. Was she really about to compel the guy she loved into forgetting what he'd just seen?

_Don't do it Caroline. _She heard Stefan's voice in her right ear, soothing and honest. _Do it. Then everything can go back to how it was. _She heard in the other from a dark, unknown voice that had been appearing more often recently.

She took a deep breath and started calmly; "look Matt, I'm all confused and I can't be with you when I'm like this. It wouldn't be fair on you." _Or Tyler for that matter, _she added mentally_._

"So what, you're breaking up with me?" Matt looked beyond confused, surprise alight all over his face.

Caroline gave him a small smile, "Matt, we were never together in the first place." At that, she turned and walked away from the entrance of the Grill, leaving the two boys together.

"Matt." Tyler said nervously. Matt didn't react; he was determinedly staring away from him, watching the disappearing silhouette of the blonde girl. "Matt, look at me." He turned to look at his former best friend, steel in his gaze. "For what it's worth, I've been going through a tough time, and Caroline's been helping me through it. Somewhere along the way, I fell for her; I don't know how anyone couldn't, because she's pretty amazing. But I guess you know that. _I_ kissed her, so blame it on me, not her." He stopped and tilted his head, thinking quickly to make sure he hadn't left anything out. "I'm sorry man." And with that, he turned and followed Caroline, leaving Matt Donovan standing there, completely stunned, on the pavement.

**x – x – x**

Bonnie breathed in the smells of the herbs in the various pots around her. Choosing one, she dipped her fingers into a jelly like orange mixture, and proceeded to rub it into Luka Martin's temples. Jeremy stood over the two of them, glaring down at the still unconscious boy on Bonnie's couch.

"Why do you have to heal him anyway? Come on Bonnie, the guy's a tool."

"I don't have to, but I kind of want to," she said, not meeting his gaze. "Look Jeremy, Luka once told me that all witches and warlocks are bound together by a code of loyalty and honour. At first, I didn't believe it, but there are so few of my kind left. I sort of feel like I have to."

There was a pause.

"Yeah, I get that, but he's still a tool."

"And you're completely convinced that he's a tool just because he double-crossed me? Just for that?"

Jeremy opened his mouth for a second, as if to argue, but then closed it. His intense dislike for the warlock wasn't _only_ because he was a traitor.

Bonnie smirked, knowing what he was thinking. "Green really isn't your colour Jer." He took a step towards her, but was stopped by a sudden cough from Luka on the couch. As he opened his eyes and his tan skin regained some colour; he began to sit up, until Bonnie pushed him down again with a nifty flick of her fingers. "The stuff I gave you is going to work, but not straight away. You need to rest, Luka."

Luka coughed again. "Wha- what happened?" His slightly unfocused, yellow tinged eyes rested on Bonnie, completely ignoring Jeremy on her left.

"You tell me." She replied, her face stony.

"I don't remem-" And suddenly, the little colour he'd gained drained from his face and he went pale. "Elijah. He killed my dad." His eyes were wide and glassy, as if he was holding back tears. "He killed my dad, and he was all I had left." Luka's face hardened. "That bastard," he hissed. "He _promised_ to help us get Marie back. When we refused to do something, he _fucking murdered_ my dad."

"What did you refuse to do?" Bonnie asked, her head swimming with shock and confusion.

"The doppelganger is no longer human, so he wanted us to do a draining spell-"

Bonnie inhaled sharply. "So you could drain the powers of every other supernatural creature, killing them means you could kill Klaus." Her eyes widened in realisation. "Wait, what do you mean to doppelganger _isn't human? _She has to be! I only saw her, what, three days ago…?" _A lot could have happened in three days Bonnie._

Jeremy's face had dropped, he looked shattered; fury hardened his eyes and chagrin laced his frown. "How is that even possible? She has to die with vampire blood in her system- how the hell did she die? Come to think of it, I haven't seen her for a few day either…"

"I know how she turned."

"What?" Both Bonnie and Jeremy turned to the now alert warlock. "_How_?"

"Elijah's been having me keep tabs on the doppelganger for months now. She's been exchanging blood with her boyfriend for months now." Jeremy almost asked which one, but held it back, knowing that Bonnie wouldn't appreciate having Elena's feelings for the older Salvatore, well, _voiced_. "Ever since the incident with Mason Lockwood a few months back."

"No. She would have told me." Said Bonnie determinedly, her mouth opening and closing, as if she were gasping for air.

"It was a secret between them. It was in case something happened to Elena... I guess she'd rather have turned than actually die."

"How did she die?" Bonnie voice was almost a whisper.

"Car crash." Luka replied, almost as softly. "Her car drove off of Wickery Bridge." Bonnie let out a strangled sob and her eyes overflowed, her mahogany skin was pale and she shook as she moaned in pain. Luka sat up and walked forwards, encircling Bonnie in his arms. _She healed me the least I can do is comfort her. _"Listen Bonnie, there's nothing you could have done. The only reason I knew is because I was scrying Elena…"

At the mention of his sisters name, Jeremy snapped out of his reverie and wrenched Bonnie out of Luka's embrace. "I think you need to back of man!" He snapped.

Stumbling, Luka caught himself, and turned to face his slightly taller opponent. The girl that had so recently been the object of their attentions was now being ignored. Bonnie stared at each boy in turn, though neither of them looked at her; they were too preoccupied by the sudden amount of male tension in the air.

Luka smirked at Jeremy and cracked his knuckles. "Now, is that any way to talk to someone who's going to help you?"

Jeremy's eyebrows shot up. "What?"

The smirk fell from Luka's face and was replaced by a solemn look. "Klaus was looking for another way to break the curse without a doppelganger- he has my sister, and now that I've lost my father, I'll do almost anything to get my sister back. I want both Elijah and Klaus dead. You guys are my best bet at that happening."

"You want to help us?"

"Don't get me wrong, I don't give two shits about any of you, I just want my sister back; we have a common goal."

_You care; otherwise you wouldn't have refused Elijah. _Luka heard Bonnie's voice in his head before he actually heard her speak. She stuck out her hand for him to shake. "You've got yourself a deal."

"You can't trust him Bonnie-" Jeremy started.

"Yes I can!" She countered sharply. She smiled at Luka. "After all, we're family."

Luka smiled hesitantly back and reached out to grasp her hand. "Yeah, we are."

**x – x – x**

Damon, for the seventh time that night, poured himself a drink. He took a deep breath and swilled the drink back, all the time fully aware of the set of brown eyes drilling into his back.

"Hello Elena."

"Why Elena? Why not _Katherine_? It's not like we're any different now: twin vampires. Ha! Who would've thought?" She spat bitterly. "We're no different." Her voice was hollow, dead.

Damon was in front of her then, within breathing distance, but not quite touching her. When he spoke, his voice was husky, but firm; "Its incredibly easy to tell you both apart, you know." He leant forwards to smell the hollow beneath her ear and her shoulder. "Different scents." He drew back slightly to look her in the eyes, his nose skimming her cheek in the process.

Elena's breath was struggling in her throat.

"And though you don't realise it, different faces."

"How's that?" If she _just_ leant forwards…

"When you smile Elena, it lights up the whole room. When she smiles, it's because the bitch has found a new way to torture someone." They were leaning towards each other, captured in their gazes. And suddenly, Damon was across the room from her again; glass in hand, as if nothing had happened. "So where's Stefan?"

Two could play that game. Elena recovered quickly and made her face a mask of indifference. "Hunting. I think."

"What's happening between you two anyway?"

"None of your business!" She snapped, doe eyes transforming to red and black. Hurt flashed briefly across his face, before it went blank and he turned to pour himself another drink. "Damon…"

"No Elena. You're right; it _isn't_ any of my business." He said flatly.

"Damon, I'm sorry, that was out of line. Look, its just that I'm so _pissed-_" He span to look at her brusquely, he didn't think he'd ever heard Elena even come close to swearing before. "-about Stefan and Katherine. For God sake - I've got enough on my plate without having to be worried about her too."

"You're not alone Elena." She heard Damon's voice quietly in her ear. He'd followed her lead and sat next to her on the couch. "You're surrounded by people who want nothing more than to help you."

"I know. It's just hard, you know? I always used to think that Stefan and I would last forever. I've always known, I suppose, that he'd never really gotten over Katherine… I just thought we were stronger than that." She paused. "Damon?"

"Hmm?"

"Can I ask you something?" He tilted his head, beckoning for her to continue. "Why did you make me forget?" Damon stiffened, and his eyes went cold. She reached, as if to shake him, but ended up rubbing his shoulder instead. "No Damon, listen! Why would you do that? Ever since I remembered, it's been eating away at me-"

There was a resounding crash as the glass in his hand was flung into the fire, then he was up and pacing in front of her. "Wasn't the memory enough for you Elena? Do you need me to explain myself too? I can't be selfish with you Elena, just as you can't seem to be selfish with my stupid brother! As a human that would have destroyed you! I couldn't have said something like that to you and then left it with you." He stopped to stand in front of her, "it would have _destroyed_ you." He repeated softly. I can't be selfish with you."

Hesitantly, she stood up and stepped forward. Elena reached out and laced Damon's fingers with hers. "Say it. I need to hear it."

He gave her a sad smile and shook his head. "No you don't Elena. You need a distraction. I won't be that for you." She opened her mouth to argue, but he cut her off again. "No. It isn't fair for me, _us_, to mess about like this while you're so hung up over Stefan."

A wave of rejection washed over her. Pulling her hands from his; "I thought you wanted me."

He moved towards her as she moved back, re-lacing their fingers. When she tried to pull away, he held on firmly. "I do. You have no idea how much. I want you; mind, body, heart and soul. But you won't give that to me. Not yet anyway." He flashed his familiar cocky smirk. "Whenever you sort things out with Stefan, I'll be here. I always will be Elena."

"So you're giving up?"

"No. I'm backing off. For now." And then he was gone.

**x – x – x**

"I apologize if I seem agitated. Things have changed recently, and I need a replacement for the witches I lost- well, got rid of. You'll do perfectly; you're right inside the circle of people I want to destroy. When we're done, you'll all die. Such a shame though, getting rid of such a beautiful face." Elijah sighed. "Oh well, sacrifices have to be made."

He reached forwards to stroke Bonnie Bennett's face. Her eyes were round and scared, but held the familiar glossy look of compulsion. "How can you compel me? Vampires can't usually compel witches- we have powers you don't." the part of Bonnie that was free of Elijah's compulsion smiled inwardly.

1 to the witch, 0 to the vampire.

Unconcerned, Elijah shrugged. "I'm a special vampire."

1 to the witch, a few more to the vampire.

Bonnie was screaming inside. "What do you want me to do?"

"You're going to be my mole. You're going to act as normal, but you will be double-crossing your friends." Elijah smirked. "You'll be working for me."

"Do you want anything in particular at the moment?"

"Yes." He paused. "You're going to infiltrate the mind of our young new vampire Elena. Intensify the little darkness that she has. Intensify her bad parts. The worse she becomes, the more power she'll gain and attain. When you perform the draining spell, I'm going to need all the power I can get to defeat Klaus." His eyes darkened at the name of the original.

"Anything else?"

"Yes." And, faster than she could blink, Elijah ripped into Bonnie's neck and drank deeply. Bonnie didn't scream, the cords of her compulsion tightened to quiet her pain. His mouth bloody, his fangs long, he lifted his head from Bonnie's neck. "Aahh, it's been long since I've had the pleasure of drinking from a witch. Witch blood is rather like chocolate for vampires." He smiled at his own joke. "Rather addictive. Especially from a _Bennett _witch."

"Sir…" Bonnie gasped.

"Oh, I'm sorry dear." He smiled down at her fondly, as if he were a loving human smiling down at some particularly cute animal. Elijah ripped into his wrist with his teeth and held it up, offering it to Bonnie. At her slightly disgusted look, he shrugged. "It'll heal you. Not to mention, well, it'll make you stronger. Oh well." He shrugged again. "If you don't want it…" he made a motion as if to take the blood away.

_Don't do it Bonnie! _Her mind screamed._ But it'll please Elijah. _Her mind countered.

She gave in. Elijah smiled in exultation as Bonnie lifted the twin holes in his wrist to her lips and swallowed.

**x – x – x**

Jules Jamieson watched the Lockwood mansion from the confinements of her truck. Her dark blonde hair shone dully in the beginnings of the moonlight, and her silvery grey eyes lit up in appreciation as Tyler Lockwood stepped out of his house and walked through the front gates.

A small smile graced her lips. She could see the pearly hazel glow of Tyler's aura, and could smell his faint animalistic scent.

She'd been at this a long time- she'd recognise a werewolf anywhere.

Her phone broke the silence of her truck.

"Yep?" She answered.

"_Well_?" Came the reply.

"Mason was lying; there is another werewolf here; his nephew, Tyler."

"_You know what to do_."

"I'll get back to you with what happens." She hung up.

Her smile turned into a fully blown grin. With any luck, Tyler would lead her straight to Mason's killers.

And then she'd kill them.

She'd kill them all.

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	7. Chapter 7

**Confessions and Compulsion**

**A/N: Hey! Here's chapter 7! 2 updates within 2 days – we're quite proud of ourselves! ;) We hope you like this chapter! Please Review and let us know what you think! :) xxx**

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"So, let me get this straight: you and Stefan were sharing blood because he was afraid he'd lose you. You saw Stefan and Katherine in the tomb making out, drove your car off a bridge, and now you're a vampire living in a house with your ex-boyfriend, _his_ ex-girlfriend _and _his brother who you've started becoming uncontrollably attracted to?"

Elena nodded slowly, eyeing her blond best friend carefully with apprehension; anxious of her reaction. Caroline was the first person she'd told about everything and it was a big deal for her; her reaction would either inspire her to tell other people, or knock her spirits down and repel her from telling anyone else. Normally, Caroline wasn't who she'd call in a crisis; her tendency to always state the painfully obvious never working in her favour. But the circumstances had changed. Caroline was the only person who could understand what she was going through, and after everything that had happened recently, she found that she needed a female friend more than ever.

"And you're only telling me _now_?" Caroline exclaimed with wide eyes and an open jaw. Elena hid a smile at her friend's reaction, suddenly feeling as though a weight had been lifted off her shoulders; the normalcy of Caroline's dramatic behaviour was _exactly_ what she needed.

"I'm sorry!" she apologised sincerely. "Everything's just been happening so quickly. If it's any consolation, you're the only person that knows apart from Damon, Stefan and Katherine."

Caroline considered this for a moment and nodded in acceptance before her eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"So Bonnie doesn't know?"

Elena shook her head.

"Why haven't you told her yet?" Caroline asked in disbelief; although the three of them were best friends, Elena and Bonnie had always told each other their secrets first, and she'd always found out later; mainly because of her big mouth and habit of never listening. The fact that Elena had told her about the most important development in her life…or _after_life before Bonnie shocked her.

"I would, but I know she won't be happy about it; you know how she feels about vampires," Elena said uneasily.

"Yeah, but she's been ok with me," Caroline replied, shifting into a more comfortable position on the bed that was now known as Elena's. She and Elena had been talking about everything for the past hour, taking full advantage of the empty boarding house, and whilst she was overwhelmed with the scale of drama in her friend's life, she was a glad to be able to take some time out of her own life.

Elena nodded before running a hand through her hair and sighing.

"I know, but I just don't feel comfortable talking to her about it. I know she'll probably be really nice about everything…_eventually_, but once I tell her, things between us will change forever. Plus, there's the fact that I haven't seen or heard from her in ages," she added as an afterthought. Caroline's brow wrinkled in thought.

"Now you mention it, neither have I! I went to see her the other night and no one was home. Do you think something's going on with her?"

"I dunno," Elena replied, all kinds of scenarios floating through her head. She hated thinking about the inevitable void that would be created between her and her best friend thanks to her new status as a vampire. She'd known Bonnie since she was a baby, and the thought of their friendship slowly fading away over time scared her. "Let's not think about that," she said quickly. "How's everything with you and Matt going?"

Caroline felt the smiley façade slip away the moment Matt's name was said. The question she'd been dreading had been asked, and she knew she had to answer it.

"Um, we're not together anymore."

Had Elena not possessed supernatural hearing, she'd never have been able to hear Caroline's unclear mumble. But, luckily for her, she picked up every last syllable, and her eyes widened with shock.

"_What_? What happened?"

Caroline sighed.

"Basically, he saw Tyler kiss me the other night, punched Tyler and we argued. In the end I broke up with him," she summarised as quickly as she could, not wanting to dwell on the details. "Turns out that being in a relationship where you're hiding the fact you're a vampire isn't easy."

Elena found herself torn between reprimanding and comforting Caroline. She felt sympathetic towards her; because she knew that she'd never want to intentionally hurt Matt. It was obvious to anyone that she loved him so much. But the burden of hiding the fact that she was a supernatural being had been eating away at her for some time now, so in hindsight, it was only a matter of time. She chose not to bring up the kiss Tyler had planted on her, realising from the broken expression on Caroline's face that Matt was all she cared about at the moment, and hugged her friend tightly.

"You know," Caroline mumbled into her shoulder. "I have a new-found respect for Stefan."

Elena stiffened and pulled back, suddenly turning less sympathetic and more awkward at the thought of Stefan and the first time she'd found out about everything.

"His situation was different, Caroline," she stated firmly. "He not only lied to me about being a vampire, but chose to withhold the small detail of me being identical to his ex girlfriend too."

"I know, but I can understand why he'd want to protect you," she reasoned quickly, noting Elena's sudden hostile demeanour. "All I ever wanted was to protect Matt, but lying to him whilst trying to build a relationship with him clearly wasn't the best way to go about it. Is it weird living in the same house as Stefan?" she asked as a way of subtly changing the subject.

Elena nodded solemnly.

"It's hard seeing him every day – especially as _she's _always with him. And if I can't see them, I can definitely hear them. The only time I feel genuinely at ease is when I know Damon's around. After everything that's happened, I honestly feel safer with him than I do with Stefan; as weird as that sounds."

Caroline blinked, unsure of how anyone could feel safer with Damon Salvatore than with Stefan, regardless of how badly they'd been betrayed. But she knew Elena harboured some kind of feelings for the older Salvatore, though she couldn't bring herself to understand them at all.

"When are you going to sort things out with him?" she asked curiously.

"When I know how I actually feel," Elena replied after a moment's thought. "I know I'm attracted to him, and I know that I _want_ to feel for him the way he feels for me. But I still love Stefan, and until I know whether my feelings for Damon have any substance, I don't want to do anything."

"I know it's hard but sooner or later you're going to have to face your feelings. You can't run from them forever, Elena," Caroline advised wisely. "Just like how you're going to have to tell people about what you are now; Bonnie, Jeremy and maybe even Jenna for starters – I mean, she's going to wonder why you never go home anymore."

"I _know_," Elena sighed, burying her face in her hands. Her head was starting to hurt, and she was starting to feel the first tinges of hunger.

"Anyway, I have to go," Caroline said as she stood up and stretched. "I promised to meet my mum at the grill. Call me if you need anything, even if it's just to talk – going through transition isn't easy."

"Thanks Care," Elena said as she hugged her friend before watching her leave. She sighed and turned towards the bed, smoothing out the sheets gently. Although she felt better talking to Caroline, she still didn't feel as though she could truly open up to her. How was she supposed to ask her friend about a vampire's ability to switch off their emotions? How was she supposed to tell someone she'd grown up with that she was becoming increasingly more enticed by the idea of numbing herself to all feeling so that her life seemed a tad easier?

"So I take it Blondie knows now?"

Elena jumped about a foot in the air before turning to face a smirking Damon leaning against the door frame. She couldn't help but think that if she were still human, a tell-tale blush would have been creeping across her face at the sight of him in his signature black ensemble with his famous air of charming arrogance.

"You'd think that now I'm a vampire you'd stop sneaking up on me!" she said running a hand through her hair, quickly recovering from the surprise but clearly irritated at being caught off-guard.

"You'd think that now you're a vampire you'd be able to _sense_ my presence!" he retorted in the same tone, a knowing look dancing mockingly on his chiselled features.

"Well," she began, trying to quickly think of an excuse. She didn't want to tell him that she'd been having a hard time getting used to being a vampire – not because she didn't think he'd help her. She knew he would do anything in his power to make the transition easy for her, _after _he'd teased her relentlessly of course. But because she hated the fact that she hadn't picked things up as quickly as she'd have liked. As a human, she'd been a fast learner, but as a vampire, that skill seemed to have deserted her. She felt like a small fish in a giant pond, and her own pride was what was stunting her growth. "My mind was somewhere else."

"Ah yes," he said in a wistful tone, strolling into the room and propelling himself onto the bed gracefully. "I'm assuming that you were wondering whether or not to break the news to your nearest and dearest?"

Elena's eyes widened and she threw a cushion at him.

"Damon!"

"What?" he said, laughing as he caught it easily and set it down on the bed. "Am I _not_ supposed to listen to your private conversations?"

"No, you're _not_!" Elena exclaimed more embarrassed than irritated. Her mind began to speedily rewind through the conversation she'd had until she blushed with realisation; had he heard what she'd said before, about feeling safer with him than with Stefan? Damon watched her intently, noting the pink tinge to her cheeks and smirking in satisfaction at her discomfort.

"Don't worry about it," Damon drawled, reclining back so that his legs stretched out in front of him and he was leaning against the headboard. "Your secret fantasies involving me will never leave this room!"

Elena glared at him, trying to muster up all of her anger and shoot it at him through her eyes. He rolled his eyes and leant forward so that he was propped up against the headboard.

"I'm _joking _Elena! I only heard the last bit and that was only because I was checking to see if you were done! I have better things to do than spend my time eavesdropping on your girly conversations!"

Elena sighed, still a little irritated but more relaxed, and went to sit opposite him on the bed. She knew that being close to him and spending time with him was probably not the best idea, but at the moment, she knew she wanted him as a friend. All romantic feelings aside, Damon was her friend, and she needed him. He moved his legs out of the way to give her room, and once she'd settled down, she ran a hand through her hair frustratedly.

"What do you think I should do?" she asked her head full of complicated thoughts and emotions.

"About what?" he asked, watching her closely. He hadn't seen her properly since that night he'd resolved to back off, thinking that space was what she needed, but now cursing himself. She looked completely drained – like she hadn't slept in days. He frowned at the thought. Vampires didn't _need _sleep. They could survive without it, or with as little as two or three hours a night (or day, depending on how you looked at it). He knew she'd been drinking from the blood bags, but she'd refused to have the fresh stuff unless it was absolutely necessary – despite him telling her repeatedly that she'd need it every few weeks to keep her strength up. He mentally resolved to keep a closer eye on her. "In case you haven't noticed, Elena, there are many possible problems you could be referring to!"

Elena rolled her eyes, trying to ignore his intense stare.

"I'm talking about telling people. Now that Caroline knows, I think I should tell Bonnie. And I really miss Jeremy and Jenna, and then there's…"

"Hold on a second!" Damon interrupted, waving his hands about in the air exaggeratedly. "You can't tell the whole world! The fewer people that know about this the _better_!"

"Then what do you suggest, Damon?" Elena retorted; sick and tired of being in impossible situations and not having anyone to actually blame but herself and her feelings. "I honestly _don't _know what to do!"

Damon sighed, realising that she her outburst was due to pent up stress, and shuffled forward slightly whilst crossing his legs. Taking her hands in his and ignoring the annoying voice in his head that was reminding him of the concept of 'backing off'.

"Ok, calm down," he said soothingly, his eyes trying to ease her frustration. "I think you should tell the witch; she knows everything else so it would be pointless to keep this from her. But, be careful. Don't forget that she's a witch and you're a vampire, and they're not known for their amazing friendships."

Elena nodded, knowing that although his words stung, he was right. It hurt to think of her and Bonnie as anything but best friends, but she knew that the circumstances had changed; she'd thought of it herself earlier.

"As for your emo brother," Damon continued, noting the sadness in Elena's eyes. "If you think he can be trusted and if you think this isn't going to push him over the edge, then tell him. Jenna on the other hand, I'm not so sure about."

Elena nodded, thinking the same thing. Telling Jeremy might not be such a bad idea – once she got her cravings under control of course; somehow the thought of giving Jeremy a demonstration of her more gruesome supernatural abilities didn't sound very appealing. But Jenna was a different story. She hated lying to her, but to tell her would mean telling her _everything_, and she didn't know whether she'd be able to handle it.

"Maybe I should talk to Alaric?" she asked thoughtfully. "He has as much of an involvement in Jenna's life as I do."

Damon considered this before nodding.

"Yeah – it's not like he was never going to find out about you either. What about _daddy_? Surely you want to break the joyous news to him!"

Elena rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I can just imagine that conversation. He'd probably try to stake me there and then!"

Damon grinned before running his thumb against her hand.

"Well, if it's any comfort, _no one _will be able to hurt you whilst I'm around. Biological parent or not."

Elena knew he was being serious, but she was struggling to pay attention to anything but the feel of his skin against hers. From the look in his eyes, he knew what he was doing to her, and she knew she was enjoying watching her squirm.

"Damon, stop it," she said quietly, her voice coming out more croaky than firm.

"Stop what?" he asked with wide eyes that feigned innocence. He knew it was wrong – it went against everything he'd resolved not too long ago, but whenever he was around her his self-restraint went out of the window. He _just_ couldn't stop himself. He ran his fingers over her hand before raising it towards his mouth and kissing it softly.

"_It was nice to meet you, Damon." _

"_Great meeting you too, Elena." _

A wave of nostalgia swept over her as his lips touched the back of her hand. She'd never forget the first time she met him – he was so charming and mysterious. She felt the air shift behind her and quickly pulled her hand away. Damon smirked at her before turning to his brother who was standing in the doorway, a frown on his face.

"Hello _brother_," Damon greeted in a cheery tone, scooting a little closer to Elena. "Finished snacking on the little woodland creatures?"

Stefan glared at him before paling slightly at the little distance between his brother and his…_ex _girlfriend.

"What's going on?" he asked sceptically, focusing his gaze directly on Elena's.

"Nothing," she said quickly, attempting to move away from Damon, before realising that she couldn't unless she got up, and that would involve having to stand awkwardly until one of them left the room.

"Just having a chat," Damon interjected, knowing it would annoy Stefan to no end. "Now, on a topic in no way shape or form connected to this, where's Katherine?"

Stefan shrugged.

"How should I know? I'm not her keeper, Damon!"

"Obviously – like _you _could handle _that_!" Damon goaded. "I asked because if anyone in this house is going to know where she is, it's you. Aren't you two _really _close now?"

There was a pause that seemed to go on forever.

"She went out this morning and didn't say where she was going," Stefan replied between clenched teeth.

Elena shifted uncomfortably and lowered her head. What Damon said stung, but Stefan not denying it hurt a lot more. Stefan noticed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Elena, I'm sorry. You know I don't…"

"Don't, Stefan," she interrupted before he launched into his usual apologetic speech that was laced with denial. "Honestly, I don't care."

Damon raised an eyebrow at Stefan challengingly, and Stefan sighed in resignation. There was nothing he could do to convince her, and with Damon behind her, he didn't stand a chance.

"We'll talk later, Elena," he said sadly, before turning and walking off.

As soon as he was gone, Elena released a breath she didn't even know she was holding. Damon rubbed her back soothingly and she turned around to face him.

"It'll get easier," he assured her with sincere eyes. Elena rolled her eyes.

"If you say so."

"I _know _so. Now, don't you have homework to be doing?"

Elena sighed heavily, relieved the intense moment between them had been broken, though fully aware of the faint tingling sensation on the back of her left hand.

"Is there any point? It's not like my grades matter anymore."

Damon chuckled as he got up and stretched. Elena noticed his shirt tighten around his toned muscles and forced herself to look away.

"That may be true, but you need to appear as normal as possible. If you stop caring about school, people will notice something's wrong."

Elena sighed and nodded. He ran a hand through her hair before walking to the door.

"I'm going out for a while. Call me if you need anything."

Elena stared at the empty doorway moments after he'd left, replaying the words over in her head, and found herself wanting to call him, even though she didn't need anything.

**x-x-x**

"Katherine, Katherine, Katherine. To what do I owe this…_displeasure_?"

Katherine smiled her beautiful smile, making sure to counteract the motion with a frosty look in her eyes.

"I wanted to have a chat," she replied, hopping off the log she'd been sitting on for the past hour in a secluded area in the woods, and standing proudly in front of the charming Original.

Elijah shook his head with an amused expression.

"A _chat_? When have you ever just wanted to have a chat with me?"

"I have something to say, and I think I should do it face to face."

Elijah immediately realised what she wanted; he'd had that many run-ins with the brunette that he knew what most of her veiled words concealed.

"And what could you possibly have to say to me that you haven't already said?"

Katherine kept her smile in place, even though her blood was beginning to boil angrily beneath her skin. This arrogant man annoyed her more than anyone, simply because he had more power than she did, and he knew it.

"I just wanted you to be aware of something," she said as she walked closer to him, her eyes staying fixed on his, as though they were daring him to _try _and use his famous compulsion on her.

"And what would that be?" he asked in a bored tone, humouring her.

Her eyes glinted dangerously and her voice suddenly became icy and low.

"I don't trust you. I've spent enough time running from you to know that you're slippery and deceitful. You're just like me."

Elijah chuckled.

"Oh, Katherine. I'm not just like you; see I have more power than you'll ever be able to possess. And unlike you, I keep my word, regardless of who I've given it to."

Katherine rolled her eyes, masking the fury she felt. She was a woman who liked to possess control, and not having it made her feel insecure and weak – two things she'd fought so hard to eliminate from her vocabulary.

"Don't think that I won't fight you, Elijah. I am not afraid of you anymore… I'm standing with the Salvatores."

Glancing at his watch, Elijah took a step towards her and decided to cut their meeting short: he had places to be, and this was a pointless conversation that was taking up his time. To him, Katherine was nothing more than dirt beneath his carefully polished shoes, and her menacing words and devious looks did nothing to intimidate him.

"Don't be foolish, Katherine," he said softly, tugging gently on a lock of her hair. "We both know that's a lie."

Instead of responding with a clever retort or vindictive comment, all Katherine could do was swallow audibly and watch transfixed as Elijah smiled eerily before disappearing off into the distance. For the first time in a long time, Katherine allowed herself to admit, internally of course, just how petrifying that man was, and how lucky _she _was to be alive. Because she knew deep down inside, that if she crossed Elijah again, he wouldn't hesitate to kill her.

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	8. Chapter 8

**Confessions and Compulsion**

**A/N: Hey! :) Sorry it's been so long – we've both been so busy with life that updating this got pushed to the bottom of the queue! Thank you for the reviews, favourites and alerts :P We hope you like this chapter – I've re-written it so many times my head hurts, but hopefully it's ok! Warning: there is a character death at the end so if you're sensitive - beware! Please Review! laced-scrawl xxx **

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The best thing about waking up early on a Saturday morning for Damon Salvatore was the silence that emitted through the house. He relished the sound now more than ever as it was getting harder and harder to cope with Stefan's ridiculous brooding, Elena's teenage angst and Katherine's…well, Katherine in general. There was always something happening – arguments, scheming, awkward pauses and door slamming. He was going through bottles of scotch as though they were tap water to a thirsty human, and didn't think he could take much more of it.

That was why he loved Saturday mornings. Over the past few weeks, he'd realised that they were the only time his fellow vampires stayed absolutely silent. Elena, still not used to her new supernatural self, seemed to be awake most of the night, only falling asleep in the early hours of the morning. Stefan simply preferred to sleep in instead of confronting his miserable situation, and Katherine just wasn't a morning person – never had been. So for him, Saturday mornings were his only escape to sanity. He was currently lying on his bed with a book in his hand, content and relaxed without a care in the world…

"Damon, what did you do to Bonnie?"

The wrenching open of his door and the sound of Elena's angry voice snapped Damon out of his serenity. He watched through lidded eyes as she stormed in, a far from amused look on her face, and resisted the urge to tell her how beautiful she looked when she was mad – aggravating her further probably wouldn't be too wise.

"And good morning to you too, Miss Gilbert!" he replied politely in a light and fluffy tone that would usually have made her smile. Not today though. Apparently, smiling wasn't on the agenda for Elena that morning.

"Damon now is not the time!" Elena exclaimed, as she came to stand in front of him, her hands resting on her hips. "Bonnie hasn't been answering my calls and I haven't seen her in days! What did you do to her?"

Damon blinked before rolling his eyes and plastering a bored expression on his face.

"Typical," he grumbled. "Sabrina the teenage _bitch_ goes MIA for a week and somehow _I'm _to blame?"

"Damon," Elena started, her voice straining to remain calm. "Will you _please_ just tell me the truth?"

"I _am!_"

"_Damon_!"

Damon sighed heavily, putting down his book and sitting up on his bed so that he could study her through his crystallised orbs. She looked _genuinely _worried – almost as though she had a feeling something was wrong. But at the moment, Elena's emotions were all over the place. There was literally no way to control them logically until she managed to get control over her hunger – and by the way she was going, that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. When it came to feeding, Elena had gone down the route of trying to eat as few times as she could in the day, and then binge on it at night. It was common, but unhealthy, and Damon knew that it had to stop. Of course, the presence of Katherine and Stefan's lack of support in the matter certainly wasn't helping.

"Elena," he started in a much calmer tone. "I haven't done anything to your _BFF_. I _promise_. How could I have done when I've spent almost every waking moment here with you?"

If it wasn't the fact that she knew he was right, something in his voice and in his eyes would have made her believe him. Lately, she'd noticed that Damon's expressions seemed to have far more sincerity than mirth in them, and whilst she was grateful for it, it could be a little unnerving at times.

"Ok," she said with apologetic eyes. "I'm sorry I jumped to conclusions…"

"It's ok," Damon said hopping off his bed so that he stood directly in front of her. "If anyone was going to be responsible for the witch's disappearance it would be me. Never mind the fact that there are all sorts of other supernatural psychos running around, waiting for any excuse to get to you!"

Elena rolled her eyes and ignored him, concluding that from the grin on his face and light tone he wasn't really bothered.

"She hasn't been in touch with anyone in ages," she said quietly. "I'm really starting to worry about her."

Damon pushed a few strands of her hair back and tilted her chin up so that she looked at him.

"Don't worry about it – you have enough to think about at the moment. Besides, I'm sure she'll appear soon enough. If all else fails you could just ask your brother."

"Jeremy?" Elena frowned. "How would he know?"

Damon grinned.

"Well, word on the street is that they're spending quite a lot of time together!" he said in a suggestive tone, wiggling his eyebrows. "Imagine that? The best friend and the brother…"

"Damon!" Elena exclaimed, picking up his pillow and hitting him with it.

"Hey!" he protested, though they both knew he hadn't felt a thing. "I'm just saying!"

"Well don't! It's too weird!" she said, wrinkling her nose. Damon laughed at her expression.

"What's weird about your best friend and your younger brother going at it like rabbits?"

Elena glared at him before hitting him again with the pillow, allowing some of her new-found strength to come through. Damon stopped laughing and looked at her with a serious expression, before slowly leaning to the left and picking up another one of his pillows.

"You're going to pay for that Gilbert!" he said in a low tone, though his eyes were dancing with laughter.

Elena grinned mockingly at him.

"Oh, I doubt that highly _Salvatore_," she said before hitting him on the head, managing to mess up his hear. She giggled and Damon relished the sound. If a pillow fight was what was going to take her mind off her troubled life, than a pillow fight was what he'd give her.

"Prepare to be very, very sorry!" he threatened before whacking her lightly on the head and speeding off to the other side of the room, laughing as she blew hair out of her face and chased him determinedly.

x-x-x

"So, have you got everything sorted for tonight, Tyler?" Caroline asked before taking a sip of her drink.

Tyler nodded; a grim expression on his face.

"Pretty much. Though it's not exactly comforting."

"I can't imagine how scared you must be," Caroline said, visibly paling at the thought of what Tyler would be going through in a matter of hours. She'd arranged for them to meet at the Grill for lunch, and for the past hour or so, they'd carefully skirted around the subject of Tyler's impending transformation. But they'd both run out of neutral topics to talk about, and the issue had to be addressed at some point.

"I'm not scared," Tyler stated, his jaw firmly set and his eyes hard. He was doing a good job at keeping up the façade, but Caroline knew that was all it was. She knew he'd never been more terrified about anything in his life, and it was seriously damaging his ego to even think about it.

"Right," she said with a mischievous grin. "That's why you want me there tonight. Because you're _not_ scared."

Tyler fought back a smile.

"Caroline, I want you there tonight so that I don't kill someone!"

"Whatever you say Ty," she teased, knowing that joking about the situation was the only way he'd be able to deal with it. It had taken her a while to realise that about Tyler – making many mistakes along the way to understanding him better. But, like most things in her life, Caroline had been persistent in making herself learn new ways to deal with his moods, and had managed to perfect it in a short space of time.

She glanced at her watch and realised that if she didn't go and feed now, she'd have a hard time controlling her hunger.

"Well, I guess I'll see you later," she said, finishing off the rest of her drink before standing to leave.

Tyler nodded, smiling at her.

"Thank you, Care. The fact that you're even helping me after what happened with Matt means a lot."

Caroline's smile faltered and she simply nodded in response. Matt was still a hard topic for her to talk about. Ever since that night, he'd ignored her and avoided her at all costs, and she'd done nothing about it. Not because she'd stopped caring. Never that. But because she hated lying to him, and getting back together with him would only result in that. She was protecting both of them, and even though it hurt like hell, she knew she had to.

She walked to her car and took her keys out of her purse, her mind thinking of somewhere she could feed – the Boarding house had become a little weird ever since Katherine had moved in, and she only ever went there to see Elena. Just as she unlocked the door, she sensed someone behind her…

"Hey Caroline!"

She whirled around at the familiar voice she hadn't heard in so long.

"Bonnie? Oh my God! Where have you been? Elena and I have been worried sick about you!"

Bonnie grinned at her friend's ability to ask so many questions without taking a breath in between and hugged her.

"Sorry – I've just been busy. What were you doing with Tyler?" she asked with a playful smirk.

"Busy with what?"

"I asked you first!"

Caroline sighed.

"We were just having lunch, and you know, talking about his transformation tonight," she added in a low voice.

"Oh yeah, I was thinking about that actually," Bonnie said, moving slightly so that she stood directly in front of Caroline. Her eyes bore into hers and Caroline found it impossible to look away. "I don't think you should go with him."

"You don't?" Caroline asked slowly, as though she were in some sort of trance.

"No, I don't. Tyler Lockwood is not your responsibility and you have more important things to do. Don't you think?"

Caroline nodded mutely, her eyes never leaving Bonnie's. Bonnie smiled eerily.

"Good. Now, you're going to go shopping and then come to my place for dinner and we are going to have an amazing time. Tyler's transformation is not your problem, is it?"

Caroline shook her head and Bonnie smiled proudly. Elijah was going to be _so _pleased with her.

"Well, now that's settled, I really have to go! I'll see you later, ok?" Bonnie said before walking off hurriedly, leaving Caroline behind with a hazy memory and a confused expression on her face.

x-x-x

"Do you _have _to eat so loud?"

"Stefan, I'm swallowing blood from a tube. It hardly constitutes as eating!"

"Well, can you do whatever it is you're doing a lot quieter? It's really distracting!"

"It's not like you're doing anything important! You're staring into space brooding – as usual!"

Stefan sighed.

"Katherine-"

"Will you please, for the love of God, stop pining over her Stefan? It's obvious which brother she wants to be with, and believe me when I say it isn't you!"

Stefan glared at her defiantly.

"She loves me, Katherine! And I love her!"

Katherine sighed heavily and threw the now empty blood bag away.

"Ok, let's go with this denial scenario you've locked yourself into," she said in a business-like manor, propping herself up onto the kitchen counter. "Let's go with this delusional pretence you have of you actually being in love with her-"

"I _am _in love with her-"

"We both know," she continued, completely ignoring his statement. "That you'll never be able to love her, the way you love me!"

_How could one woman be so beautiful but so annoying in one go? _Stefan sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Katherine," he began in a tired voice that revealed how emotionally drained he had become. "What is it going to take for you to get it? I'd do _anything_ for Elena – lay down my life for her, fight until my last breath for her, protect her from anyone or anything that tried to harm her-"

"Let Damon have her?"

Stefan stopped and stared at Katherine who had hopped down from the counter and was slowly making her way over to him.

"Well?" she persisted as she gently touched his cheek, forcing him to keep his eyes locked with hers. "We both know he's stronger than you. And it's blatantly obvious to anyone with eyes that he loves her more than he's ever loved anyone before."

"Damon doesn't love her," he said, though he knew it was a pointless statement. He was lying through his teeth because admitting it would be equal to literally handing Elena over to his brother, and that was the last thing that was going to happen.

"I love her, Katherine," he said with a resigned sigh. "And she loves me too."

Katherine rolled her eyes and resisted the urge to strangle him. Before she could respond, she heard something from upstairs and smirked.

"Then where is she now?"

Stefan opened his mouth to reply before closing it abruptly when muffled sounds of laughter wafted through his ears. Laughter that he knew belonged, not only to Elena, but his brother too. Laughter that was coming from upstairs.

Katherine smirked at him as realisation flashed in his green eyes.

"Like I told you before," she said resting her hand on his chest. "_She's _chosen the brother she wants to be with - maybe not consciously, but she's definitely decided. And everyone in the house knows it."

Stefan shook his head firmly, not about to accept the fact that he'd lost Elena. There was still a chance for them. He could feel it, and he always trusted his feelings.

"You're wrong, Katherine. And I'm going to prove it to you."

"Is that so?" she asked, basking in the certainty she felt. "Care to make a wager? If you're right and Elena really loves you, I'll let it drop. But if _I'm _right and she chooses Damon, you have to give me what I want."

Part of him was screaming at him to accept – the odds were on his side after all. Katherine was wrong, and he was right – that was what he'd been insisting repeatedly for so long. And he believed it with all his heart.

But that apparently wasn't enough.

"I know better than to bet with you, Katherine," he said before showing past her and walking away.

Katherine cackled, watching his retreating form slouch away.

"You'd have lost anyway!"

x-x-x

It started with a tickle.

A feather-light tickle that ran across his spine, barely noticeable. Then it somehow suddenly evolved into an excruciating pain that erupted all over his body. He was in absolute agony. It felt as though he was burning from the inside out. He could feel his skin breaking as hair forced its way through, and his throat was so sore he was sure it was about to draw blood.

He cried out repeatedly, wishing for the torture to end and hating his destiny even more. The fact that Caroline hadn't been there to help him out wasn't helping either. She hadn't shown up or answered her phone, so he'd had to lock himself into the cast iron chains. The problem was that no one had been there to lock the door, which meant that when the time came, he could get out if his predatory instincts really willed himself to. And that terrified him almost more than the thought of his transformation.

x-x-x

Matt locked up the Grill and walked to his car, yawning widely and running a hand through his hair. He was so tired it was unbelievable. Ever since the incident with Tyler and Caroline, he'd thrown himself into sport and work, and was now learning that balancing the two was exhausting work. The truth was that he wanted to avoid both of them, and busying himself was the only way he could do it effectively.

He missed Caroline more than he'd ever care to admit. He missed her voice, her mannerisms, her hunger for gossip, her laugh. He hated thinking that his best friend – the boy he'd always thought of as a brother – had managed to come between them. And he also hated to think that a girl had come between their friendship. When had his life become so complicated?

As he unlocked his car door, he turned and saw a dark shadowy figure approach him.

x-x-x

When his pangs of hunger suddenly become excruciatingly crippling stabs of pain, Tyler Lockwood knew that there was only one way to alleviate them: eat.

But, like everything in his life now, simply eating wasn't that simple. He wasn't hungry for burgers and chips, he was craving meat – and a specific _type _of meat too.

Human meat.

He didn't know where he was going – not consciously – but his feet (and arms) had carried him to the Grill. Later he'd wonder how he'd managed it, and he'd put it down to knowing the route like the back of his hand. But at the time, he was so consumed by hunger and animalistic thoughts that it didn't come into his mind. All logic had abandoned him.

He paused for a moment and inhaled deeply, trying to sense the food he craved. Suddenly, a figure emerged from the building and walked slowly to his car. He couldn't recognise him from where he was, and even if he had, it wouldn't have made a difference. He'd begun to salivate and his eyes had turned a bright yellow. Dinner was served.

He ran towards the figure at break-neck speed, launching himself onto him and sinking his teeth into his body, relishing every single second of the feeling. He felt the flesh break and the blood wash over his teeth, coating his pearly whites with red smears. He ripped and chewed and swallowed until there was hardly anything left. He then sighed in content before dropping the dead body and disappearing into the night.

It wasn't until the early hours of the morning that Matt Donovan was found dead.

* * *

**:O**

**Thoughts? xx**

**Any requests for ch9 just let us know :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Confessions and Compulsion**

**Heya guys :)**

**Sorry it took so long to update, with the royal wedding and all, (no, I joke, ;) Nah, me and my lovely friend laced-scrawl have just been busy xxx laced-scrawl doing something productive, (studying) me, in a different country doing absolutely f*** all :)**

**Sorry again guys :'D **

**Hope you enjoy the chapter, tell us what you think in your reviews and we'll take it on board :P**

**WARNING: Swearing and (sort of) violence (not very graphic though, i don't even know why I wrote that now...) :L xx**

* * *

As a vampire, Caroline had always had trouble sleeping, whether it was because she was now an undead creature of the night, or that the nightmares kept her up, she didn't know.

That morning however, seemed friendly to her, the morning sun was just peeping through her blinds and casting stripy shadows on her cream coloured quilt. The blonde curled up tightly, hugging her knees to her chest, she had a shield all round her, she decided, nothing could touch her and nothing would ever hurt her.

Fat chance.

Vampire hearing alert, she heard her front door creak shut behind her mother, her hurried footsteps, the slight scrape of her bedroom door against her floorboards, followed by her mattress sinking slightly with her weight.

"Caroline? Honey?" A hand burst through Caroline's protective layer to touch her duvet; as it burst, she let out a sigh.

A vampire could never have some peace and quiet could they?

Caroline rolled unto her back and poked her head from underneath her duvet, blue eyes staring reproachfully at Liz, who looked solemnly back. "Honey, look, I don't quite know how to say this…"

The slight hooded look of Liz Forbes' eyes, and her short laboured breathing tipped Caroline off that something wasn't quite right. "Mom. What is it?"

"Its Matt." She sat up quickly as a feeling of cold dread shot through her body; somehow, she knew what was about to be said.

Her hand reached out to grip Liz' forearm. "Mom, just say it."

"My team found him dead this morning."

Caroline stopped breathing. ""What? How? The body- _Matt." _Her voice broke as she threw of her covers to rush out of bed, but found her mother's hands restraining her.

"Caroline- You don't want to go there- the body, it wasn't- we could barely tell it was him." Liz stretched forward to embrace her daughter but Caroline threw herself of her bed backwards, rolling of and getting steadily to her feet.

Caroline saw red.

_Just breath Caroline, breathe. _After everything, she couldn't blow her cover now.

"Caroline-"

"Just don't mom! Leave me alone!"

**x – x – x**

"_Breaking News; this morning, the body of local Matt Donovan was found mutilated in the outskirts of town, severe damage has been applied to his chest, and vital organs seem to have been ripped out during the mutilation. Police are under the impression that some deranged serial killer is roaming the streets and advises us all to stay inside after dark…"_

Damon's mouth fell open as he stared at Matt Donovan's smiling picture on the screen in front of him.

He was dead.

Really dead- and it sure as hell wasn't the work of a serial killer. How the hell was he going to keep this one from Elena?

"_This murder seems to be similar to the one of his sister, Vicki Donovan, several months ago…" _A flash of guilt when through Damon just as he tried to squelch it. He hadn't permanently killed her, but he'd set things in motion…

He heard Elena's gasp of pain before he span around and saw her thunderous expression, with a whirl, she was gone, clambering at breakneck speed up the many flights of stairs- towards where Katherine was, as he was quite sure, _pretending _to be asleep. "Elena!" He yelled up the stairs, he took a step towards running after her, but all of a sudden the front door burst open behind him.

Caroline was standing there, eyes blazing with fury and grief, and Damon could have sworn he saw a flash of red as she made a move towards him.

"Where is she!" She screeched. "Where is that _bitch?_" Caroline's eyes were wet, contrasting sharply with the telltale signs of her vampire nature flickering black underneath her eyes. She flashed to the bottom of the stairs, fully prepared to climb them, but found Damon in her way. "Get out of my way Damon."

He shook his head, a regretful grimace on his lips. "Caroline, you need to _calm down_."

"Don't you dare tell me to calm down Damon Salvatore! Let me go and kill the bitch who _killed my boyfriend_!" She trued to barge past him again, but Damon, exerting his brute strength, pushed her backwards until he had her slammed up against the walls behind them.

"Caroline! Listen to me! Katherine didn't kill him!"

**x – x - x**

Elena burst into Katherine's room, and stopped stock still in front of the empty bed. _Where was she? _She thought. "Katherine?" Her anger pausing.

She heard the familiar pace of Katherine's black stilettos walk coolly out of the en-suite behind her. "Elena darling? Can I help you?"

The anger was back. Elena's face changed, her eyes becoming black. She flew at Katherine, pushing her back into the wall behind them both, holding her by the neck. "You bitch! Why would you kill him huh? What did Matt ever do to you? You wanted to get to me? Guess what, you _bitch, _your mere presence in this _fucking house _already annoys the _fuck _out of me! You didn't need to go and kill Matt!" Tears were trickling down Elena's face, mingling with the black veins in her cheeks.

With a sigh of disgust, Katherine shoved Elena away from her, with such force she sent her twin sprawling across the floor. Elena lay there, crying into the floorboards. "Before you come and accuse me Elena, think about it, why would I kill your dear friend Matt? What use would that be to me?" She stepped forward, and knelt down until she was level with Elena, "Go on Elena, answer the question. Why would I kill Matt?- especially when I owed you for getting me out of that godforsaken tomb?" She slid her fingers underneath Elena's chin to lift her tear stained face up so her eyes could meet the older vampires'. "Why? Your problem is Elena, you're a newborn- too volatile, too impulsive. You don't _think. Think _Elena. _Why would I do that?"_

In a flash, Elena was up, facing Katherine and staring her down. "I'll tell you why-"

Both vampires had been so engrossed in their arguing that neither one had noticed Stefan leaning against the doorframe to Katherine's room. "Elena, you can't tell her why she killed Matt, because she didn't." He said softly. Both women turned round to face him, one triumphant, one slightly put out.

"Why not?" Elena snapped at him.

"Because Katherine was with me Elena."

Elena stood up from her place on the floorboards quickly, staring at both of them, shocked, in turn. "If it wasn't Katherine," Katherine scowled at the assumption, "then who was it?" Elena continued to stare at Stefan in confusion, her emotions running through her faster and faster, different colours flashing across her eyes.

"I think I can help with that one." Katherine piped up through the silence. Stefan and Elena swivelled round to face the smirking brunette. "Since Stefan here, still hasn't lived up to his full vampire nature yet, not like little old me over here-" Elena didn't miss the way her doppelgangers eyes flicked swiftly over her and back again. "I may have heard what happened to your hot, blue-eyes last night."

Elena vamped out again, and sped towards Katherine, reaching for her neck again. She didn't manage to get far until Stefan had pushed her sideways mid-path towards Katherine, and taking on a slightly aggressive stance towards his ex-girlfriend. "Stefan!" Elena growled, her fangs still low over her lower lip. Stefan shook his head at her mutely, trying to caution her with his eyes. He could see Katherine was gearing up for battle; he and Elena would be no match for her if she decided to fight back. He hoped that Elena could see that he was protecting _her_ from _Katherine, _not the other way round.

Elena seemed to understand what he was saying and closed her eyes, breathing deeply; her face became herself again. She opened her eyes, resigned, and asked what she'd been intending to in the first place. "So Katherine, if you didn't kill Matt, then who did?"

"I'd like to hear what dear Katherine has to say about that as well." Came Damon's voice from the doorway. His left arm was extended to restrain Caroline, who didn't really look like she needed to be anymore. Her face looked human again, and instead of looking angry, she looked tired and submissive. "Go on Kat, tell us your theory then." His voice was mocking.

"It was your werewolf friend," She said, talking towards Caroline, "Tyler Lockwood."

**x – x – x**

_Blood._

Elena wanted blood.

The life lasting liquid that could fuel her anger, her pain, her everything. She wanted to forget every moment she'd spent with her childhood friend. She wanted to forget her first kiss. Moments spent playing in tree houses as children, moments spent in times of friendship, and moments spent in times of hardship.

_She didn't want to feel._

She knew how Stefan felt. When he'd hurt Amber, he'd wanted to stop feeling. With Damon, every single awful thing that he'd done, he just wanted to not feel. _The guilt was all-consuming. _It was al she felt, and it was something she'd feel for the rest of her eternity.

She'd live with Matt's death on her conscience, by herself, stuck in her hellhole of eternity. Alone. Without Damon. Without Stefan. She'd have to live with the memories of her childhood friend, and the knowledge that she could have prevented his death.

She felt nothing when she ripped open the fox' neck to drain it dry. No little pang of guilt, knowing that that fox mother would never reach her cubs.

She didn't want to feel.

And when Damon caught up with her, spun her round to face him, she felt nothing for the vampire, the _man, _who had been so kind to her, who'd looked after her, because he loved her.

Because he couldn't be selfish with her. But she could be selfish, and she would, she'd be selfish forever if she had to.

She didn't want to feel.

This is what it felt like to truly be a vampire.

Without emotions. No love. No anger. Just an empty instinct for self-preservation. To survive.

"Elena!" Damon shook her slightly. His eyes were wide, taking in her appearance.

Damon could have sworn he felt his undead heart break at the sight. Elena. The beautiful girl whom he _loved…_ at that moment had truly learnt what it meant to be a vampire, and she was embracing it. "Elena, listen to me. Its okay; we'll find Tyler, it'll all be fine-"

"I don't care." She said flatly.

"What?"

"I don't care." She repeated. "I don't care about anyone. I'm a vampire, I thrive in the death of others."

_She'd flipped the switch. _Damon realised. Elena's normally lively eyes were dull and lifeless, devoid of emotion. She'd become something worse than death itself- she'd become living death. "Elena, listen to me, this isn't you! It can't be you! You cared about Matt! I get it, but don't stop your feelings! Our emotions, our reactions, they define who we are, once we stop feeling we lose ourselves." He finished quietly. "This isn't you Elena. This isn't the girl I've grown to-" He stopped; it wasn't the time for that. "-Care about. Don't lose yourself Elena; you care; don't stop."

Elena's eyes were still flat, she hadn't taken anything in. "Who are you to tell me what to do?" She pushed against his chest firmly, breaching the contact between them. "I can prove to you that I don't care." And she was gone.

Damon stood there, stock still, until a scream from about a mile in front of him shook him into action. He found Elena leaning over the body of a man.

He smelt death; she'd killed him.

**x – x – x**

"You killed him! You killed Matt!"

Tyler just sat there, in the woods' clearing. He didn't respond to Caroline's accusation, he just sat there, staring at the various scratches on the grass beneath him.

"You said you had it under control! That you didn't need me! You're scum Tyler, you killed your best friend; my boyfriend!"

At that, Tyler looked up at her. "Wasn't your boyfriend Care."

He didn't see the slap coming till it hit him full force on his cheek, he head cracked backwards. "But I loved him, didn't I Tyler? Unlike you!" She yelled at him, her later words taking on a mocking edge.

Tyler reared upwards to face her, shocking Caroline; she didn't think he'd react to her baiting him. "I cared about you! I would have done anything to help you, because you'd helped me!" Something was niggling at the back of Caroline's mind- how she'd promised to help him through his transition. No, he'd forced her into it; she'd never wanted to help in the first place…. "I waited for you Caroline! Do you know what I was thinking of when I went through that pain? Do you know how it felt?"

"Tell me." She found herself whispering.

"I felt like I was dying Care, lie someone was ripping my soul out through my spine. But the worst part was, I felt my heart break. You said you'd be there for me, and you weren't as a result, I escaped, I killed my best friend, and at that moment I knew I'd lost you; my human part knew that, even when all I was feeling was my monster."

"I didn't say I'd help you."

All the colour drained from Tyler's face. "What?"

"You heard me."

"Caroline… you promised me you'd help me and keep everyone away from me when I transitioned!"

"You forced me into it!"

"Caroline, you offered."

They stood stock still for a moment, staring each other down. Suddenly, Caroline rushed towards him, slamming into his shoulders with her hands against the stone wall barrier between themselves and Wickery Lake. "What kind of game are you playing?"

"I don't understand." She pushed him harder. "Ow- Caroline, let go-"

"Why are you lying to me Tyler?"

"I'm not!"

"You forced me into helping you, I just decided not to!" She let go of him disgustedly, deluded into thinking he was lying to her.

"I don't get it Care. Do you not remember what happened that night?" She didn't reply, still staring at him in disgust and hurt. "I-"

"Forget it Tyler. I don't want to talk to you anymore. From now on, I don't ever want to see your face again; because if I do, I can promise you, Matt's death will get the revenge it deserves." Then she wasn't there anymore, and Tyler was alone.

He knew she wasn't lying- she genuinely believed what she was saying to him was true, even though he knew it wasn't.

That wasn't the Caroline he knew, that was a Caroline who'd been seriously messed with, and he was going to find out who'd done it.

**x – x – x**

Stefan had always known that Katherine was direct; she always got to the point. So he knew he shouldn't have been surprised when she asked him directly what he knew had been niggling at her since her argument with Elena that morning.

"Go on. Out with it."

Play dumb, or get straight to the point?

Definitely play dumb. "What?"

"Don't play dumb Stefan." She knew him way too well. "Why did you defend me earlier?"

"I was just-"

"No Stefan. No more bullshit." He gave her an exaggerated stunned look. Him? Talking bullshit? Katherine was the queen of bullshit. "You know what I mean. I've always been honest about my feelings Stefan." He opened his out to protest, what about his brother? She'd driven him insane with her bullshit and her lies. "Honest about my feelings for you Stefan. I never loved Damon, you always knew that." His mouth closed, in a way, she was right. "Go on Stef, I want an explanation."

"It was the truth."

"No it wasn't, you had no idea where I was yesterday."

"Not killing Matt, one of my ex-girlfriends' best friends, I know that much." They stared each other down, green eyes knowing and brown eyes defiant.

"It could have been me."

"But it wasn't."

"But it could have been!" Katherine snapped, louder this time.

"But it wasn't."

"Why defend me then?" She changed her direction of attack.

"Because I knew you didn't kill him! Why not defend you Katherine?"

"You hate me." She said quietly. Sometime during their banter, he hadn't realised they'd closed the full distance of the room between them so that they were now only a few metres apart.

Stefan sighed. "No, I don't."

"But-"

"I don't hate you Katherine, I never have." His acute eyesight picked up the subtle change in her stance when she said that, her humble posture becoming more feline, taking on a sultrier, more seductive aura.

This was the Katherine he knew well.

"Why don't you show me how much you don't hate me?" She moved forwards, trying to close the already shrunk distance between them. Stefan took several steps backwards as she tried to approach him. Stefan saw hurt flash briefly across her face before she resumed her pout.

"Katherine…" He trailed off, staring at her uncertainly.

She raised her eyebrows, trying to hide the sudden rejection she'd just felt. "Yes Stefan?"

"I know you're convinced that I'm not, but I am; still in love with Elena, I mean. In a way, I'll always love Elena. Consequently, you know I have, feelings for you too, I think our time in the tomb proved that."

"You're really messing me about here Stefan."

"Think about it this way, according to you, we've waited 145 years to find each other." She nodded. He walked forward so that he could reach out his hands to cradle her face. Her gaze was caught in his, unable to look away. "Us, can wait a little longer don't you think?"

**x – x – x**

Bonnie stood there in the shadow of the alleyway, waiting. She had no clue what she was doing here, yet, she knew exactly why. The part of her that wasn't being controlled was screaming at her to run, whereas she knew she had to stay.

Compulsion was a bitch, she decided.

She felt the wind change around her suddenly, and saw her master standing there. "Miss Bennett." He inclined his head.

"Elijah." She watched him as he watched her, master and servant, taking each other in. "You have a request?"

He made no move to show that he'd heard her, but answered her question with another. "You did what I asked? The Matt boy is dead?"

"I did, Matt is dead, and Elena killed earlier today out of anger."

"Perfect." He paused, scrutinising her. "Can you intensify her the darkest part of her nature?"

"I can do that. It will drive her... to, acting on her impulses though Elijah. She'll leave a trail, she's a newborn, she's too volatile and inexperienced. She only has one of those Salvatore's looking after her-"

Elijah cut her off. "Do it Bonnie. A trail is exactly what we want." He smiled, slowly and cruelly, it's time for our lovely Elena to finally live up to what she was born to create."

"What's that?"

"Chaos."

* * *

**Sorry again that it took so long to update guys, we've been busy xx**

**Hoped you liked the chapter though, took me long enought to write it! :'D Tell us what you think! 3 :D**

**Any suggestions?xx**


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